


The Magicians and Magik

by dhapin



Category: New Mutants, The Magicians (TV), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-20 01:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5988100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhapin/pseuds/dhapin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Been watching the Syfy Channel's show Magicians.  Rather like it.  Nice to see it's a graduate degree program and not high school or freshmen in college.  More... advanced as it were.  As I watched I started wondering how Illyana would fit in (yea I'm somewhat focused on Illyana writing, some might say obsessed), not as a student and not really as staff either.  Heck, Illyana never really got out of high school (although it was a private school so we can suppose that she is better educated then the average high school student).</p><p>First chapter sets the story up and is a bit of a comedy story.  Don't know if there will be additional chapters (I've only seen three episodes of the show after all). </p><p>The summary of the show is that the primary figure, a guy by the name of Quentin, has been accepted at Brakebills University, a secret institution specializing in magic and specializes in the unorthodox education of spell casting. </p><p>I suppose this story takes place after Illyana gets her soul back and is post Utopia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Part 1a: Physical house party!**

Quentin was enjoying the party at the Physical house, his new abode as he was no longer in the dorms. Smoking and alcohol were in prominent use, and not just tobacco from the smell of it or the slight contact high. The physical house was like a dual gender Frat house for practitioners of primary physical magic. And being like a Frat house there was a large amount of horse play, drinking, and general carousing. Ahh college students, the same everywhere you go. Majoring in magic, minoring in alcohol .

 

Quentin was drinking a beer and standing with his new friend Eliot whom he had met a few months ago at orientation, Eliot was at least a year ahead of Quentin (Quentin wasn't sure and Eliot was vague on the topic). Eliot was smoking a cigarette and drinking a gin and tonic. They were observing the party which had morphed into bit of a dancing rave and the beat was thundering.

 

Quentin was dressed in his usual casual style while Eliot was dressed in his usual upper classmen snazzy attire shirt, pants, vest, tie (you get the type). The main common's room was dark, smoky, and very very noisy. They were having to almost shout in each other's ears to be heard. Midnight Oil's Beds are burning was currently playing, or rather thundering.

 

..

How can we dance

When our earth is turning

How do we sleep

While our beds are burning

 

The time has come

To say fair's fair

To pay the rent

Now to pay our share

...

 

Quentin gestured with his beer bottle. _"Who's the blond"?!_ Quentin shouted. _"The one dancing with Margo and that guy! I haven't seen her before! What year is she"?!_ Margo was a female friend of Eliot and also a member of the Physical house.  

 

Eliot took a puff on his cigarette as he glanced over to where Quentin was pointing. He then took a generous sip of his drink and shouted a reply.

 

_"She's not a student! She's... kind of a guest lecturer"!_

 

_"What do you mean kind of a_ _lecturer?! And if she's staff then doesn't this violate the rules of fraternization between student and staff that were in the student hand book"?!_

_"She doesn't tend to follow the rules! By kind of I mean she sometime lectures, you never know when or on what! And by guest I mean she shows up from time to time! Sometimes she also attends a class or two for a day or so, you can never tell! You need a Dean's invitation to attend most of her lectures, and sometimes it's really seriously dangerous shit! She's a traveler, can move between worlds! I think she also personally tutors some students from time to time, I can't figure out if the students are being rewarded or punished! I think she's mostly here for the library privileges"!_

_"And the administration tolerates this"?!_

_"Yea! If you ever really meet her you'll know why"!_

_"What's her name"?!_

_"Magik"!_

_"What"?!_

_"Magik, spelled with a K. She's called Professor Magik"!_

_"Really, isn't that kind of... well presumptuous"?!_

_"No, it really isn't! Again if you ever really meet her you'll know why"!_

_"Well, how the hell do you know all this"?!_

Eliot took another sip of his drink. _"Let's go outside, I'm going to lose my voice trying to shout over the noise"!_

Eliot led Quentin out back whereas the noise instantly subsided by a thirty or forty decibels (ahh the joys of noise cancelling magic, a must for any Frat house). Now they were able to converse, and inhale some clean air as well. They both took a seat at a patio table.

 

Eliot then told the story of how Magik came to Brakebills University.

 

**Part 1b: Day of Magik**

 

Intro to summonings is a hard class. The lab is even worse. They really lock the sucker down because... well summoning is dangerous even with all the controls. After the first few lectures they have a special lab, where they summon something extra scary just to freak out the students and help drive home proper summoning protocols and safety.

 

I was in the lab, back row. Not actually a class you want to sit up front, when they cast the enchantment. The lab was one of the lecture halls where the lab is at the center of stadium student seating. Triple extra protection wards and half a dozen instructors on hand. The lights dimed and a blackness filled the circle of protection, but there was this red glow in the blackness that was kind of odd. Then a voice was heard and I saw one of the instructors start, like this was not what was expected.

 

 _"What"?_ The voice said with a bit of an eastern European ascent. It was female and sounded irritated. _"Damn it. I was almost to level 18! Shards, I haven't saved the game in over an hour"!_

Then she walked out of the darkness as it were and was revealed. She was a tall and leggy blond female demon. Had horns, a devil's tail, goat hooves, glowing orange eyes, and a chain mail bikini that showed that she was well equipped if you get my drift. Now I prefer my intimate company to be male and hunky, but I'd have to admit she was hot, even with the goat hooves and tail. You'd think chainmail couldn't show off a figure, well it can.

 

I don't know what the instructor was try to summon, a minor demon I suspect, but man did they screw up. Which I suppose really helped drive home the severity and danger of summoning.

 

 _"Ok, what's going on"?_ She asked. _"And who the hell are you people"?_ She put her hand over her eyes like she was shielding them from some kind of light that only she could see.

 

 _"This... looks like a school lab"?_ She stated with disbelief.

 

 _"Be gone demon"!_ shouted the instructor as he did some fancy hand moves. She started to fade away but then she faded back in.

 

 _"No"._ She stated _. "You summoned me and screwed up my game. I want some answers. **Now** "._

 

The instructor did the little hand waving again but nothing happened this time other then she gave him a stare of disdain. The other instructors all started hand waving and she looked like she was starting to fold in on herself. Then it stopped and reversed. Man did she look pissed. Then she grinned and spoke while this massive sword appeared out of nowhere in her right hand. Guess it was her first lecture.

 

_"You know, sometimes summoning is like baiting a hook, kind of like fishing. Most of the time you catch what you're fishing for; assuming you catch something. Sometime you catch the wrong thing, and very very rarely some very rude and unlucky fishermen get their nets tangled up with a nuclear submarine and everybody..."._

She waved that freakingly massive sword over her head, looked just like one of those insanely impractical swords from the Japanese comics, and with that the wards of binding and protection were fried. The blast wave tossed everybody about and knocked out most of the instructors and half the class.

 

She strode out from the circle crackling with power. The words Oh Fuck do not begine to describe the situation. I saw several blasts of battle magic strike her and just get reflected or absorbed while her sword flashed each time. Then she zapped the remaining instructors with some kind of spell from her left hand.

 

I was still conscious so I bolted for the door only to have it slam in my face. I turned to find her walking up the stairs towards me.

 

 _" **YOU!** "_ she shouted at me. _"My game is ruined and now I'm hungry"!_

**INTERRUPTION**

_"Shit, do you mean that she was going to eat you dude"?!_ Stated Quentin.

 

_"Naaa, turned out to be a poor choice of words on her part. She was hungry so after first blasting the doors down she commanded me to lead her to some place that served food. I ended up taking her to the Student Union cafeteria. However, one the instructors was coming to at this point and he thought what you were thinking. Anyway, back to the story"._

**END INTERRUPTION**

 

So she ends up frog marching me outside of the building and looks around. Now I'm scared shitless at this point as I think she's going to eat me too. Behind us one of the instructors staggers out of the building and let's loose some kind of magical blast. She's staggered, then recovers. She backhands him and he goes flying and is laid out cold; she's really strong by the way. Then she turns back to me and says.

 

_"So, where is a good place to eat around here? I assume you have whatever the hell you people use as money. I'm the injured party so it's your treat"._

I had nothing to say in regards to her statement so I point over to where the Student Union is and with a flash of light we're both at the main entrance. She then cast some kind of ward around the building that kept everybody out while she forced me in and had me buy her lunch. Before you ask, it was sushi and noodles, it was Japanese Thursday and they do a really good job. Needless to say most folks ran, including the cashiers so the meal didn't end up cost me anything.

 

So there I am sitting with a demon and watching her eat sushi and slurp noodle soup while drinking a coke. She starts questioning me as to who I am, my name, and just what the hell is this place. I can tell you that I was very prompt with my answers, told her everthing. By now most of the people had fled, the ward would let them leave the building but was preventing anybody from coming in. We were sitting by one of those big windows so the faculty finally figures out that I'm not being grilled or deep fried and that just maybe this wasn't a hostage situation. I think her drinking the coke with a straw was the final clue.

 

Dean Fogg was out on the commons (Dean Fogg is the head of the university), by the edge of the ward, and started waving at her to attract her attention, which I might add I had to point out to her. She then looks like she's listening to something. She finally sighs and speaks out loud, but not to me.

 

_"Ok, ok. I suppose I over reacted. I had a bad experience with... another school as it were. I thought you guys were another version of them"._

And with that the sword fades away and so does her demon form. Now I sitting across from a tall blond woman, early twenties, dressed in a black pair of short shorts, a black top with a boob window, tall black boots, black gloves, plus she has some kind of black sticks stuck in her hair. There was also some kind of weird black spiky armor on her left shoulder. Did I mention that she liked black?

 

With that the ward went down and Dean Fogg was able to walk over and enter the building. So there I am, present at the table for a brief and odd conversation between the two of them. He introduces himself and inquires as to her name. That's when she told him to call her Magik with a K. He asked where she was from and she said it varied.

 

They got to talking and cleared up the little misunderstanding That's what she called it, little misunderstanding. She then asked to see the library and Dean Fogg escorts her over, I tagged along for reasons that now escape me, likely I was in shock. She ends up voicing her approval and asks what it takes to get a library card.

 

Got to give the Dean credit, talk about making lemonade out of lemons. Within five minutes she's on staff as a non salaried visiting guest lecturer. Office and everything, which I think she sleeps in when she's here. I hear she prefers the student parties to the faculty events, more... lively. Plus she likes to dance.

 

**Part 1c: Back to the party**

 

 _"She has an office?"_ asked Quentin, not really sure if he was believing any this. _"Where"?_

 

_"On the fifth floor of Howllet Hall. Posted hours are, and I quote, when I feel like it. It's weird. I was in her office once and it was bigger on the inside then on the outside. And it was on a mountain top, a blasted little purple dragon kept dive bombing me. I asked another student I knew who had been in her office and he claimed that the office was in some pit in hell; burning lava and all. Not sure if it's an illusion or just keeps changing localities"._

_"Wow, that's... weird"._

_"Yea, she shows ups ever few weeks on average for a day or two. Likes to spar with the sword fighting team. I have friend on the team and he says she fights dirty, real dirty. Combat style as it were, all about the win"._

_"How'd you get in her office"?_

_"I've... been invited to a few of her lectures and she reviewed a paper I wrote. Got a C, my first C ever. I protested, but she said that I'd spent more time formatting the paper then I'd spent writing it. That I was playing it safe instead of trying to stretch"._

_"Was she right"?_

_"Yea, rather pissed me off. I was swamped with work from my other classes and I kind of phoned that paper in. I complained to her and asked how she handled it when she was in school"._

Quentin finished off his beer. _"And..."?_

_"Shit, she said she'd never even graduated high school"._

_"What??? But this is a University, even the gardeners have degrees"._

_"Well... don't think she's not qualified. Man if there's one thing Professor Magik knows it's Magic"._

_"And the staff isn't freaked out by having a demon walking around"?_

 

Eliot finished his drink as well and stood up to return to the party.

 

_"Jury is out on that. Is she a demon with a human form or a human with a demon form? But Quentin my good man, this is Brakebills. Of course the staff is freaked out, so are the students and the mascots as well"._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have now watched five episodes. Still like the show. I figure Illyana pops in from time to time as this gives her a chance to slightly live a life that was not in the cards for her. That life being at college and being irresponsible. Plus, access to a really good library, and frat parties. With great power comes great partying I suppose (snicker). This chapter got a bit long, rather surprised myself. 
> 
> Decided to add Lockheed. I figured that he hangs out with Illyana when Kitty is either too busy or is too occupied with her fiancée Peter (the comics really should show this).

**Part 2a: Reassessment (a week later)**

Quentin was in class when an envelope appeared on his desk. The instructor was busy lecturing on the dangers of losing control of heat enchantments, fire being the least of your worries. One second it was not there, then when he glanced down to write some more notes he noticed the envelope. Open after class was written on the envelope.

 

Quentin wasn't sure as to the origin of the envelope. As soon as class broke he showed it to Alice, his classmate and fellow member of the Physical house.

 

 _"Well open it"_ was her conclusion and statement.

 

Quentin did, it contained a brief note. He read the contents out loud.

 

_"Since your first magical assessment was inconclusive, report to office 307 in Howllet Hall for an additional assessment of your magical abilities. Do this after your last class today"._

Alice slightly readjusted her glasses. _"This was your last class today, right"?_

 

 _"Yea. So not comfortable"_ was Quentin's response. _"I mean, what if they find something wrong with me or decide to kick me out again because they conclude that I'm not qualified to be here"?_

 

_"You're qualified Quentin, it's just that it's unusual that they were unable to determine any magical specializations that you posses. That's rare, likely they just want a second opinion"._

 

_"Yea, still makes me uneasy though. I'll sync back up with you to go over that assignment after I'm done"._

 

Alice replied as she walked off. _"Ok, I'll be at the library doing some research"._

 

Quentin watched her go, not that he was admiring her figure or anything, or so he told himself. Alice liked to dress in a manor that rather hid her figure but you could still tell that she had one, a rather busty one. Then with a sigh he trudged over to Howllet hall.

Howllet hall was a rather bland seven story building of classrooms, administrative functions, offices, and some labs. Upon entering the building Quentin decided to take the stairs to get a bit of exercise since he only had to go up two flights. He entered the stairwell and quickly ascended past the second floor only to be confronted with a door that had the number five on it when he reached what should have been the third floor.

 

Now one does not normally climb two extra flights of stairs and not notice. But odd things happen at Brakebills University. Quentin went back down the stairs to find that the second floor door also now had a five on it. He went down another flight of stairs to again find the door said five; and the stairs continued down yet he distinctly remembered that the there no basement.

 

After descending a few more flights of stairs he came to the realization that he was in a magical loop as it were. He dug the card from his pants pocket and found that it now said office 507 instead of 307.

 

Hmm, something about Howllet hall fifth floor was ringing a little bell of alarm in the back of his mind but he couldn't place why. He pushed open the door to floor five and stuck his head through the doorway. Just a hallway with office doors, bulletin boards, and such. With a slight sigh of exasperation Quentin stepped though the doorway onto the fifth floor of Howllet hall.

 

As he walked down the hallway in search of office 507 (hmm office number 518, must be back the other way) he wondered about the subterfuge. Why hide what floor he was supposed to go to? Ahh office 507, Professor Magik. Office hours (now).

 

Crap.

 

The door was closed. Quentin heard music playing behind the door. It was The Man's too strong by Dire Straits.

 

...

I have legalized robbery

Called it a belief

I have run with the money

And hid like a thief

I have re-written history

With my armies and my crooks

Invented memories

I did burn all the books

And I can still hear his laughter

And I can still hear his song

The man's too big

The man's too strong

...

 

Quentin paused for a few seconds to collect his thoughts, as he took a deep breath he noticed a female student out of the corner of his eye by the elevators, she was looking at him oddly. Must know about the office I'm about to enter was his thought. He hesitantly knocked.

 

 _"Enter"_ was the curt female voice response.

 

With a bit of trepidation as he reflected upon the story of alternate worlds that Eliot has spun, he turned the door knob and opened the door; preparing himself to be shocked.

 

It was an ordinary looking and somewhat cramped office. There was a window that faced the morning sun, since it was currently mid afternoon no light was streaming in but the view of the quad was nice. Professor Magik was sitting behind an ordinarily metal desk and was dressed... well dressed rather frumpy and wearing glasses. If Alice was modest in her dress Professor Magik's professional attire was grey, boring, nerdy, and left everything to the imitation as one was not quite sure there was a female under all those clothes (although his recollection of what she looked like at last week's party definitely placed her in the very female index in his book).

 

The air smelt rather smoky, Quentin assumed it was from the candle burning on a bookshelf. The bookshelves were mostly empty, only a few scattered books and an IPod docking station with speakers where hence the music was playing from (Professor Magik reached over and hit pause as he entered the office). There was a laptop on a writing table next to the desk, the screen showed a game of solitaire being played (the most tested program in the universe). The desk itself was mostly taken up by an enormous and open ancient looking leather book. The two pages shown were filled with obscure writing and odd drawing (from what he could see). It was rather hard to see what was on the pages as there was a purple stuffed animal on the book (looked like some kind of dragon).

 

The stuffed animal was taking up most of the book, rather like how cats like to lay on your book, newspaper, or tablet (likely telling their owner to stop reading and pay attention to them). Clearly the oddest page marker Quentin had ever seen. Mentally Quentin cursed Eliot for his elaborate and now obviously fake story about Professor Magik.

 

Professor Magik briefly stretched and gestured at the chair in front of her desk. _"Have a seat Mr. Coldwater"._

_"Quentin, please call me Quentin"_ Quentin responded as he took off his backpack, which he set next to the chair, and took a seat.

 

" _No"_ was the curt response as Professor Magik examined him.

 

" _Umm why"?_ Was Quentin's slightly puzzled response. He was now concerned that the assessment as already getting off on the wrong foot.

 

_"First names presume familiarity, that is not the case here Mr. Coldwater"._

_"Umm, ok"_ was his response. Like what was he supposed to say?

 

_"You do know why you are here Mr. Coldwater"?_

 

_"My assessment... is incomplete at this time"._

 

 _"Correct Mr. Coldwater"_ Professor Magik stated as she stood up and picked the stuffed animal dragon off of the book.

 

_"Dean Fogg asked that I... take a look at you and see if I could discern more then was... previously assessed"._

She walked around the desk and gave him the stuffed animal to hold. _"Here, hold him on your lap"._

Quentin took the stuffed animal, while feeling very silly. Wow, the sucker was heavy, and rather warm. Was it a book marker? Well it was heavy enough, but it was warm enough to be a bed warmer. Maybe it was some kind of disguised magical sensing device. This is one odd lady, party animal by night, apparent Uber nerd by day.

 

Professor Magik walked back behind her desk and sat back down. _"So tell me about yourself Mr. Coldwater. Why do you want to study magic"?_

 

Quentin answered as best he could. _"Because... because I was incomplete before I came here. I was always searching for something, always felt off, odd. Had trouble... relating. Was depressed as well... like... like is this all that life is? Then I found out I could do magic and it all made sense. I love it here. I'm accepted. I feel like I'm normal"._

_'You're not"._ Was Professor Magik's answer. _"No one here is. Normal is not something that attends_ _Brakebills or other such institutions_ _"._

 

Quentin was rather peeved by her statement, but hid it. He really disliked being talked down to and Professor Magik didn't' really look any older then he was and it always annoyed him when people put on airs. He decided to try to reshape the conversation.

 

 _"How would you feel if you had been denied the chance to learn magic Professor Magik"_ was his question and warning shot as it were. Her answer surprised him.

 

_"Likely very happy and content. And whole, mustn't forget whole. No Mr. Coldwater, attendance here is not so... simple"._

She stood up again and turned to look out the window. _"You've already had the intro book on ethics, all students do, and I believe you've even be lectured by Dean Fogg about the dangers of learning magic. How you must control and shape it or it will end up shaping you"._

_"Yes..."_ was Quentin's cautious reply.

_"He, and the school lied, at least in part. You do know that don't you"?_

Quentin frowned. _"No I don't. It makes complete sense"._

_"In what way"?_

_"You need to control what you do, be careful, pay attention to the details. Keep in mind that the forces we manipulate can not only turn on us, but reshape our minds and our bodies"._

_"Yes... and yet no"._ Was Professor Magik's response.

_"Your answer was a good classroom response and this campus is filled with stories about magic and it's misuse. No Mr. Coldwater. Magic will shape you, regardless of your actions, so long as you pursue it. If you survive this school then you will be changed, and I don't mean growing older or maturing. For some the changes are minor, for others the changes are... well life altering if they're lucky, maiming or killing if they are not. There is a good chance that you will find that many of the changes you undergo won't be for the better. There is only one sure way to prevent the study of magic from reshaping you. Don't study magic". _

Damn this stuffed dragon was heavy, and hot. Quentin could swear it was getting warmer.

 

_"I'm not giving up magic. I... can't. I don't think that there's anything that would stop me. I swear to you Professor Magik that I'll do anything to stay in Brakebills_ _"._

 

Professor Magik turned around from the window _. "Accepted"_ was her brief statement.

 

The candle went out and something about the room changed. It took a second before Quentin realized that his right thigh was being gently massaged like a cat likes to do. He glanced down and learned that the stuffed animal was moving, kneading with its front claws while it yawned. It... it no longer looked like a stuffed animal but instead was a small, leathery, rather hot ,dragon.

 

Then little dragon arched its back on his lap and stretched out its front legs like a cat stretching. A curl of smoke trailed out the nose of the little purple dragon as he (for some reason Quentin knew it was a he) lifted his head and stared into Quentin's eyes while emitting a grumbling smoky _"Humph"._ Then the dragon leaped into the air while spreading his wings and flew in a graceful arc that took it right through the wall of the room, as if the dragon or the wall was an illusion, and then back through the wall again to land on Professor Magik's right shoulder and curl around her neck.

 

**Part 2b: Just what would you do?**

_"Oh shit"_ was Quentin's unrestrained outburst. _"Is that a real dragon"?_

Professor Magik answered as she scratched the dragon under his chin with her left hand.

 

_"Yes. Lockheed, myself, you, my IPod, and this book are the only things in this office that are real. The rest... was to put your mind at ease. Thank the abyss that these are not my cloths. Kitty didn't like being called mousy and these are positively spinster aunt grade"._

Quentin stood up and looked around the room. Nothing appeared different, he looked back at Professor Magik again only to find that her clothing had changed. Now she was wearing that black getup that Eliot had described _("..._ _dressed in a black pair of short shorts, a black top with a boob window, tall black boots, black gloves, plus she has some kind of black sticks stuck in her hair. There was also some kind of weird black spiky armor on her left shoulder. Did I mention that she liked black?")._

_"Umm..."_ Quentin asked. _"Where are we then"?_

 

Professor Magik casually waved her right hand and the office faded away.

 

They were standing in a large square stone courtyard enclosed by grey stone walls. There were several arched doorways in the walls. It all looked rather medieval. Quentin glanced up and froze. The sky... the sky was... Incredible.

 

The sky was like... like a millions aurora borealis (northern lights) filling the entire horizon with just a dark hole in the center. Like every Australian opal that could ever would be had been used to paint the sky. Red, blue, green, lavender, orange, yellow, and every other possible color was there, painted across the sky. Shimmering, waving, flaring, and shining. Like Vincent Van Gogh had been given the sky to paint with every color imaginable).

 

Quentin was enthralled by the sky. It was everything he'd ever dreamed magic could be. After a time he heard Professor Magik clear her throat.

_"Umm... where are we"?_ Was Quentin's question. He really wanted to know because he'd really really like to come back (plus part of him hoped it was in Fillory).

 

_"A dead world orbiting a non rotating black hole in the Universe I come from. This ruin was the palace of a demon called Gbz'ag. He and I had... differences which resulted in his demon hoard meeting my demon hoard and the extinguishing of his life at my hands when I cut his head off. I'm... currently the owner of this place by right of conquest and the fact that nobody has wanted to try to take it from me. I come here from time to time to see if I still like the view, bit if a self test"._

Quentin looked at the sky again. _"How could you not love it"?_

_"There was a time in my live Mr. Coldwater when such things had no real meaning or impact on me as I no longer had the ability to appreciate them. Happily that is in the past"._

Professor Magik nudged a rock on the ground. _"The place is a rocky dump, but the view is fantastic"._

 

Quentin definitely agreed on the view, but the idea that they were in another universe was... hard to buy.

 

_"How do I know that this isn't just another illusion"?_

_"You don't, but it isn't. I suppose you'll have to take my word on it. I lie, but only rarely"._

_"Why... why are we here"?_

_"You swore an oath to me. Not bright Mr. Coldwater. Lesson number one. Oaths can have consequences. This is one"._

_"I didn't... Oh. Ummm I guess I kind of did_ ". Quentin replied as the thought back upon his prior words.

 

 _"Walk with me Mr. Coldwater"_ Professor Magik stated as she started walking in the direction of one of the openings. The dragon's neck was curled around her neck in a 270 degree angle allowing the dragon to watch Quentin as Quentin watched her walk away.

 

With a slight sigh he started walking and hurried to catch up.

 

_"How did you feel when your supposed best friend Julia imprisoned you in that enchantment and mocked you as a pretend visitor to your mental institution"?_

Quentin didn't bother asking her how she knew. He'd talked about it with his friends and with Dean Fogg. He supposed Professor Magik had learned of the details from Dean Fogg.

 

_"Angry. Hurt. Betrayed. Wounded. Resentful. The list is rather long. The worst was..."._

_"Yes"?_

_"She rubbed my noise in it with the engagement ring, the supposed wedding, and... and mocking me. That... that... "._ Quentin couldn't finish the sentence.

_"Broke something? Maimed something? Damaged you friendship"?_ Prompted Magik as they walked thought the opening.

 

Quentin found that they were in an open roofed narrow corridor that appeared to be about one hundred and fifty feet long. At the far end was what appeared to be another courtyard. They continued walking, Quentin on the left, Magik on the right.

 

 _"Killed it I think"_ was his answer. _"I... I could have died, been trapped forever, gone insane. I... I don't know why she did that to me"._

Magik gave a slight disbelieving snort and replied. _"Yes you do. You pissed her off by mocking her and hurting her feelings. Well, she hurt you back, paid the debt with interest and then some. You behaved a bit douchie, she behaved like a vindictive bitch who then found out that she went too far and fell off the edge of... well a cliff of sorts. She was upset for you... and likely upset for herself"._

 

Quentin could swear that the dragon was grinning at him _._

_"So why are we here?"_ Quentin again asked.

 

_"I have a job for you. You swore you'd do anything"._

_"Umm... "_ Quentin was rather concerned. _"I... well those might have been hasty words"._

_"They were. Doesn't matter. Time to learn the price of hasty words"._

_"What is it I have to do"?_

_"You'll see, here take this dagger, you'll be needing it"._ Professor Magik held forth a black dagger (Quentin had no idea where she had produced it from, I mean her clothing was rather tight and lacked any packets). The dagger 's blade was etched with snakes and the hilt was a snakes body with the pommel being an open snake's mouth holding a large ruby. She was holding it by the blade as she offered it to him.

Quentin stopped walking and stared at it. " _You do know that I have no idea how to use weapons"._

Professor Magik sighed. _"Yes, your generation is very deficient in the deadly arts, more inclined to either shoot something or cast magic. I've advised Dean Fogg about that"._ She lightly waved the dagger at him.

 

Quentin reluctantly toke the hilt of the dagger with his right hand. Then not knowing quite what to do with it he dropped his hand back down by his right side. Unnoticed by Quentin the ruby began to slightly glow.

 

_"What happens if I can't or won't do what you want"?_

_"You will be expelled, your memory erased, and likely a lifetime of mockery from Julia. Girl really knows how to drive home her anger, I'll give her that, but not too bright on the long term planning"._

Quentin stopped walking. _"That's... that's not fair"._

Magic stopped. _"My assessment of Julia or that I'll have you expelled"._

_"Expelled! Why would I be expelled"?_

_"I could say because I said so, but... well hell that does rather sum it up quite well Mr. Coldwater"._

Magik resumed walking.

 

Quentin watched her walk away for a few seconds and the briefly jogged to catch up and then proceeded to walk behind her. He felt a hot wave of anger flow over him. Anger at the capricious nature of Professor Magik. Anger at himself for hasty words. Anger at... at his Dad's illness and his inability to... to help. Anger at the unfairness of it all. Anger at... at Julia. For what she'd done to him and for the lack of punishment. Anger at... anything that he might have cause to be angry about.

 

He'd loved her and had seen that love turn to despair as she had instead loved another. How like a knife it had twisted in him. He knew she had to have known how he felt about her, yet she'd never acknowledged it or spoken of it. That had... hurt. Hurt n that dull aching kind of way that never goes away.

 

Then he'd finally been better at something then her. He had finally had something that she couldn't have and that had made him feel... better. Better until she's almost killed him. Now... now he wanted revenge, vengeance, justice. But the Dean did nothing and said that he would do nothing and Quentin had no idea what he'd do the next time he saw Julia, and that scared him.

 

Quentin started to slightly slash at the air with his dagger.

 

They walked though the opening into another courtyard. This one had broken statues littering the ground. The status were... gross. Distorted bodies, tentacles, or figures of torture.

 

Professor Magik turned around and looked at Quentin. _"Here we go Mr. Coldwater"._

_"What?"_ Quentin asked while looking around the court yard. There was nothing out of the ordinary to see.

 

Professor Magik put her left hand on his right shoulder and slowly turned him around. the opening was gone, replaced by a wall. A wall that had a bound female figure chained to the wall. The figure was Julia!

 

She was bound and gagged and dressed only in a lacy black bra and panties. Her arms were outstretched, like on a cross, but her legs tied together with rope. She looked very disheveled, sweaty, and wild eyed and franticly mumbled something indiscernible.

 

Quentin's grip tightened on the dagger, the ruby glowed brighter and began to pulse with his heart beat.

 

 _"Why is Julia here?"_ whispered Quentin.

_"She's my task for you. Dean Fogg so isn't going to punish her for what she did. I want you to... have your revenge. Do as you want with her. Oh, and yes this really is her, this is not an illusion. As I said before, nothing here is an illusion"._

_"I... I don't want to hurt her. She's my frie..."._ He stopped speaking.

Magik finished the sentence. _"Friend? Well, odd kind of friendship. Yes, I know she was most distraught when she learned that the enchantment was permanent, but up to that point she didn't give a shit, apart from you suffering that is.. She really got off on your pain and confusion. What was it that you said Julia? Oh it was (what a rush). That's all you really were Mr. Coldwater. Another rush, another high. One more magical climax. She felt that you'd fucked her over, well she oh so definitively fucked you up. By all rights you should institutionalized in some hospital drooling the rest of your life away"._

Quentin briefly licked his upper lip and swallowed, this mouth had gone dry. _"What... What am I supposed to do"?_

_"What your heart desires. I suppose you're too kind hearted to actually kill her but... she is available for you to at least express your displeasure. Shame, rather attractive young lady now spreading her legs for all comers so long as they'll teach her some magic. Yea, she's now boning everybody but you, guess you don't have what she needs to scratch the itch"._

Magic continued. _"Hmm, this could be your big chance Mr. Coldwater. I mean just think what she'd be willing to do for you if gave her some crumbs from your table. All those dark little desires, all those urges. You might be shy with an audience so I'll just leave you two to get better... acquainted. Two's company, three's a crowd or isn't that how you always felt with her and her boyfriend? Give in Mr. Coldwater, give in and hurt her or be expelled"._

With a flash Professor Magik was gone, leaving just Quentin and Julia. Quentin tried to think but it was hard. He was so angry and the dagger, it felt... so good. So right.

 

Julia had heard everything Magik had said and was franticly shaking her head no, her eyes wild, and made whimpering sounds as Quentin approached. There was a dark look in his eye.

 

 _"Hi jewels",_ he used the pet nickname he had for her. " _Funny meeting you again after you... well F'ed me up"._

Julie mumbled something unintelligible, is sounded like she was pleading.

Quentin cupped his left hand to his ear and tilted his head.

_"What's that jewels? I couldn't hear you because I WAS FUCKING COMATOSE! They couldn't help me. Nobody could! I was trapped in my worst nightmare. And you it! God jewels why?! I... I loved you. I so wanted us to be more then... then just friends"._

Quentin advanced so that their faces were just inches apart. His eyes were wild with rage, grief, and... something else. Something dark.

 

Julia tried to back away but there was only the wall behind her. She was frantic, something... something was wrong with Quentin. She's never seen him like this. He was always the quiet one, rarely even raising his voice, now... now he looked consumed, impassioned, and slightly mad.  

 

_"But no... you... picked him. And you keep reminding me of it every single day. I... I didn't tell them that you had remembered, that erasing you memory didn't stick. I'm... not sure why. Maybe to remind you that for once I was better then you. That I... had something that you wanted. Or... maybe I just couldn't bring myself to hurt a friend"._

Quentin brought up the dagger and pressed the flat of the blade against her left cheek. The ruby was now glowing brightly and the serpents etched upon the blade appeared to be writing upon the metal.

 

_"Or maybe I can. I think... I wonder... "._

 

Julia began to cry.

 

Quentin wiped away a tear with his left hand. _"No no jewels. That's not going to help. I was stuck in the spell for days and days and days subjective time. And you loved it"!_

Quentin found that his left hand had somehow grasped her throat, and the dagger was raised in the air. He wanted... wanted...

 

He stabbed down hard.

 

**_"YOU"!_ **

 

With each statement he stabbed, and the blade howled as it penetrated.

_"I wanted you"!_

_"I so wanted us"!_

_"I... I couldn't tell you, but you had to know"!_

_"I knew you knew"!_

_"Why"?!_

_"Why wouldn't you love me"?!_

_"I... was so afraid to tell you"!_

_"I knew you'd just reject me"!_

_"That it would destroy what little I had"!_

_"Then... Then you went ahead a burned it"!_

_"God I hated you"!_

_"Oh God how I loved you"!_

A frenzy of stabbing.

_"Oh... God I wish... that we could somehow... still be friends"!_

 

With that he dropped the dagger and fell to his knees in crying sobbing grief over what had happened and what he had now lost.

Surrounding Julia were deep gouges in the stone wall, but she was untouched. She was hysterical and the air filled with her muffled screams. Then her screams faded away.

 

Quentin glanced up, the wall was gone and with it Julia. Professor Magik was squatting down beside him, her left foot had apparently crushed a small black snake.

Quentin gasped some words between sobs _"What... what the... hell just happened"._

 

Professor Magik carefully looked him over, and then stood up.

_"Decided to pry the lid off and see what makes you tick. The dagger and your... issues with Julia provided the opportunity. I wanted to know just how far would you go and what you would do if all of societies constraints were lifted from you. Just what did you really value and what would you really do"._

_"I... really really hate you right now"_ was Quentin's gasping response.

_"Yea, I get that from some people"_ was the unsympathetic reply from Magik.

Quentin ignored her for a minute as he got control of himself.

_"So I'm expelled again"_ was his fatalistic statement.

Magik coolly eyed him. _"No, you get to stay and you get to continue to live"._

_"Live"?_ Was his question. Magik's answer was rather chilling.

_"What we're willing to do for power helps define who we are and what we develop into. But what we're unwilling to do, that defines us better. This was an assessment Mr. Coldwater as to just what kind of person you really are. If you were really a well hidden monster then... well your world doesn't need two beasts running around"._

Quentin incredulously asked _"And you would have just killed me, and the school would have let you"?_

_"Yep"_ was Magic's matter of fact reply. _"Although the school would have been upset, but look around; do you see anybody from the school here"?_

Ok. Apparently she's a killer. Wonder if she's ever been on the receiving end of such testing.

_"And just what would you not do for power Professor Magik? Just how were you tested"!_ Was Quentin's bitter retort.

Magik looked silently down upon Quentin for a few seconds, then decided to share.

 

_"I escaped once, my fate as it were. I was free of the evil that so defined so very much of me. I could have remained free, unsullied. All I had to do was let my best friend be soul raped and killed by another. That's all. Do nothing to stop it having done nothing to cause it. The purified I could not stop it, only the fallen, the dammed me could prevent it"._

Professor Magik offered her left hand to help him up. Quentin thought of rejecting it, but then grasped it with his left hand and let her help him stand up. She continued her brief story.

 

_"I choose. I saved her. And resumed my fate and damnation. I later died of it. Then... then I was brought back only to find myself in hell being... well it was hell in ever sense of the word. I later escaped and killed my oppressors but I was damaged and insane for years. All because I cared more for another then I did for myself"._

Quentin mulled over her words, then asked a question.

_"Was it worth it? Did you choose correctly? Would you do it again"?_

Professor Magik smiled. The first time she had showed Quentin something other then a neutral or cold expression. The smile was nice. It lit up her face.

_"There are many things I'd change if I had a do over, but saving Kitty? **Never** would or will I change that decision. As I said, what we won't do is a critical part of what defines us". _

Quentin used both hands to wipe the tears away from his face.

_"So you lied when you said that I would be expelled if I didn't hurt her"._

_"No Mr. Coldwater. As I said I rarely lie. You did hurt her, quite badly I might add. Love always cuts the deepest even when it turns the other cheek, but only if the victim cares"._

_"So what now"?_

_"Now we return to my office, you forget most of what happened, and we have a most unsatisfying assessment review. Although I am NOT dressing frumpy again. Tsk tsk, I suppose your magical talent is still unknown. Even Professor Magik is stumped"._

_"And... Julia"?_

_"Will remember this as a bad bad guilt dream about her actions. Somehow I doubt it will help"._

_"How... how did you know all of that"?_

_"Simple Mr. Coldwater. I asked you while you were under a compulsion truth spell. Then I erased your memories and sent out of my office to stand there for a few minutes while I went and got Julie, and did the same to her. This is our second interview, but unlike the first one you get to remember some of this, but not any part about Julia"._

 

**Part 2c: Aftermath**

 

Illyana was walking down the stone corridor again. Lockheed was on her shoulder and giving her the evil eye while making scolding sounds.

 

_"Don't look at me like that Lockheed. She was... well not safe but he wasn't going to be able to physically hurt her. I left safe guards. Had he been the kind of person I was concerned he might be, well... All the harm he did would have done would have been in his mind, an illusion as it were. Boy did good considering the circumstances; likely much better then most people would considering what she did to him"._

 

Lockheed snorted a grumpy and smoky _"Humph",_ but forgave Illyana her harsh lesson and testing. Young kits needed to learn and some kits just had to learn the hard way (dragons are very practical).

 

Illyana commenced to give Lockheed a good chin scratching as she continued her walk back to where Julia was still hanging upon the wall. She was still sobbing over what had happened.

 

Illyana coldly appraised the young woman, and then spoke.

 

_"Yea, he was rather a douche in how he treated you about not getting into the university, and rather had... expectation of you that you were and are under no obligations to fulfill. He just isn't your type, at least he wasn't until..."_

Illyana left the statement hanging. You rather had to wonder just what Julia would be willing to do to get Quentin to teach her magic, likely nothing that would be good for either of them long term. Well Julia rather put paid to the possibility that Quentin would want to involve himself with her, torture tends to cause rather severe relationship difficulties. But then again, one never knows, they were both young and therefore rather... naive in regards to such things.

 

_"All this will be remembered by you as a bad dream, but I won't be in it. Just you and your likely ex friend"._

Illyana thought for a moment.

_"Hmm, neither of you apparently have bothered to wonder just why you failed the written test. Well, it's like this... you can do magic just fine, you've shown that. But the test... well the written test is also was about ethics and decision making. You... well you have ethical issues. You have some ethics, or so you tell yourself. Guilt yes, self loathing over what choices you're will to make, but stopping yourself? No, that's... appears to be broken. Teaching you magic would be like teaching a crazy person bomb making and firearms. It's just going end badly nine out of ten times. Well, too late now, magic's got its barbs into you and is reshaping you even as we speak. I wonder what you'll... become"._

 

Well time for some parting words of advice, not that Julia was likely going to take it.

_"Spreading your legs and whoring yourself for magic is... not going to work out well. Stop while you can still face yourself in the mirror, and before you try to mumble that it can't get any worse... well it can and it's going too if you keep on this path. From one who fell to another still in the act of falling, stop while you still have something worth saving"._

_"And no mater how far you've fallen, you always have more to lose"._

_"There's **always** more to lose". _

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Always like reviews, and suggestions. So this chapter is dedicated to Lord Grise who provided both.

**Part 3: Email chain one**

From: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

To: Magik@limbo.gov

Subject: Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

From the desk and hand of Dean Frankel K. Fogg

 

Greetings and likely a surprise.

 

I hope that you enjoyed the demon summoning and banishing conference in Zurich. But I must apologize for the behavior of Doctor Helga Goering from the Swiss University of Lausanne (magic school).

 

I have reviewed the cell phone footage shot by some of the participants and it corroborates with the reports I received from other attendees and your own account. You were provoked and defended yourself with minimal damage to both property and persons. There was no call for Doctor Goering to go berserk, as it were, at evening buffet reception and open bar. A case of too much schnapps combined with jealously over Professor Jeremy Clarkson (the British Professor from the Irish school of magic).

 

But I must point out that she remains a rather large toad despite all attempts to rectify the situation and she does have classes to teach. Could you please find it in your heart to allow her peers to remove the curse?

 

P.S. Thanks for the chocolates, very tasty.

 

 

From: Magik@limbo.gov

To: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

Subject: RE Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

1) I took great offense at being loudly proclaimed a hussy, a slut, man stealer, succubus, and other insults from the obviously drunk and disorderly Dr. Helga. I'm the first to admit that my academic credentials are lacking in the traditional sense, but being called a high school flunkout was unnecessary and also quite inaccurate. I was engaged in a rather interesting conversation with Dr. Jeremy Clarkson, who has an uncanny resemblance to a man I once knew, when Dr. Helga unloaded upon me both verbally and magically.

 

2) Um? Are you sure her name is not Broom Helga? (ha ha, sorry couldn't resist).  

 

3) She was the one who challenged me to the dual and struck in an underhanded manner before I even had a chance to accept or decline. At least now the outer form matches her inner self (although to truly do that I suppose I should have transformed her into a mink in heat or a buzzard instead of a toad).

 

4) How did you get this email address? I have no email address on your would and have valiantly resisted all attempts by your IT department to provide me with one. So yes I was rather surprised to receive your email.

 

Umm, how do you read email? You are currently blind, at least the last time I checked. Hope my question as to your eyesight is not offensive.

 

 

From: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

To: Magik@limbo.gov

Subject: RE Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

From the desk and hand of Dean Frankel K. Fogg

 

Thank you for your prompt response. Yes I can read and write email as I have a special App for that (provided by the IT department).

 

As to how I got this email address and network access (and yes only I currently have it), it has been noticed that you used your IPhone from time to time to text, receive phone calls, and read/send email. This elicited some curiosity from some the more technical magical students and accessing your communication channels became a bit of a project (they got A(s) as you can tell). I hope you don't find this intrusive.

 

And yea, she rather is a Broom Helga (ha ha, like the joke), as I have met her and have had to fend off her advances, the mink comment really does describe her well.

 

But please? I'd ask you to think of her students but I suspect they also rather prefer her in her froggy incarnation. Instead think of... of... well darn I can't really come up with a good reason.

 

Please?? (With that extra pleading whinny tone).

 

 

From: Magik@limbo.gov

To: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

Subject: RE Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

Fine (long dramatic sigh of forbearance).

 

After additional contemplation I will release the curse for one week, and permanently release it if Dr. (Broom) Helga then issues a very public apology. Her insults and actions were public so I feel justified in insisting that the apology also be public.

 

However there is a chance that she may develop a desire to snack on small crawly invertebrates, flies, and worms so you likely will need to stress upon her the need for sincerity in the apology.

 

 

From: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

To: Magik@limbo.gov

Subject: RE Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

From the desk and hand of Dean Frankel K. Fogg

 

My thanks for being the better person in this little spat. I swear managing faculty members makes herding cats easy.

 

I believe you have viewed the current roster of new students, are there any that you wish to add to your mentoring schedule? I think Penny would make sense due to his relocation abilities but as always the selection is yours to make.

 

Have you given any more thought to becoming a formal academic advisor?

 

Oh, your request has been granted to be an Academic supervisor (secondary) to the Physical house.

 

 

From: Magik@limbo.gov

To: Frenkel.k.fogg@Brakebills.edu

Subject: RE Conference mishaps (my apologies)

 

Thanks on the Physical house supervisor position. At this time I still wish to avoid being a formal academic advisor due to my very part time basis.

 

Penny is... well a bit of an irritant as I strongly suspect we will just not get along. I will continue to review his progress and may in the future take a hand in his training.

 

Please add Alice and Quentin to the roster. The attached spreadsheet holds the set of possible tutoring times for each of them.

 

Also find attached the summary for the next lecture, assuming you approve.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonder what Magik's lectures are like? This takes place before Episode 6 of the Magicians. Just where is Magik in her timeline? Not sure, this is obviously post Secret Wars III, but other then that I have not placed it in any larger story context. 
> 
> On power levels one must remember that 100 years in the future Illyana was shown as being Sorceress supreme of the Galaxy.

**Part 4a Ruminating upon the lecture**

 

Alice, Quentin, Eliot and Margo were sitting around one the Physical House's patio tables. It was a late Thursday night, in reality a really early Friday morning, and drinks were being consumed by all, plus Eliot was smoking. It was a beer for Quentin, virgin bloody Mary for Alice, Eliot was having a Gin and Tonic (his third) and Margo was enjoying a rum and Coke (light on the Coke heavy on the rum).

 

 _"Ok, that was officially weird in a place that makes weird the norm"_ opined Quentin. _"Are all of her lectures like that"?_

_"Na"._ Replied Eliot, and then continued.

_"Usually there's more drama, I heard she fought a dragon once, or explosions; I think she likes explosions. Have to give her credit though, that was the best demonstration on the topic I've ever heard or read about"._

They had just attended one of Professor Magic's lectures. It was the first lecture by her that Alice and Quinton had attended. Eliot appeared to be an old hand as it were. It was Margo's second lecture.

 

The topic had been Time, not that any of the students had known this before the lecture, Magik's lecture topics were always kept hush hush.

 

 

**Part 4b The Lecture**

 

The lecture had been at Bennet hall at 7:30pm. Bennet hall was the largest of Brakebills' lecture halls, it could easily hold four hundred plus people (and apparently a dragon if you believed Eliot). Not all of her lectures were in Bennet, but the invite list had been rather large for this lecture, and the administration like using a big room for most of her talks in case... well in case one had to flee or avoid things.

 

Bennet hall was a traditional stadium seating auditorium but the seats were on a mild incline with two aisles. There was the stage, with a door on either side, two doors at the back and two doors in the middle.

 

The song Take This Waltz by Leonard Cohen was softly playing over the audition speakers as everybody found their seats. The song was rather jazzy and a Lenard was bit of a crooner.

 

_Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women_

_There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry_

_There's a lobby with nine hundred windows_

_There's a tree where the doves go to die_

_There's a piece that was torn from the morning_

_And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost_

_Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay_

_Take this waltz, take this waltz_

_Take this waltz with the clamp on its jaws_

_Oh I want you, I want you, I want you_

...

 

There were twenty current students, seventeen former students, and over thirty faculty and staff at the lecture; plus Dean Fogg. There were some additional non staff present such as Eliza, the specialist that Dean Fogg consulted with from time to time.

 

Professor Magik was sitting in the front row next to Dean Fogg. The music cut out and the lights dimmed.

 

Fogg stood up and walked to the stage, turned to face the audience, and greeted the crowd. There was nobody else sitting in the front row, or the next five rows (sometimes you just don't want to sit up front and get too close to... well to whatever Magik was going to do. Those rumors about the dragon rather had some newcomers on edge).

 

Quentin and Alice were in the middle sitting next to each other while Eliot and Margo were in the back.

 

_"Welcome invitees to this continuing lectures series from visiting Professor Magik"._

Four students got up and started walking down the two aisles handing out the lecture summary and attached notes. Dean Fogg continued speaking while this was happening.

_"The handouts contain reference material for those who may wish to explore the literature on the lecture topic. Most of the reference works are available in the library. With that I give you Professor Magik"._

 

Dean Fogg walked back to his chair and sat down. Magik stood up, she was wearing a deep blue evening gown and had a small black leather purse on her left shoulder. It was odd, she only looked twenty two or twenty three years old; heck most of the students looked older. And yet... there as an air of... well not age but experience about her. She walked to the stage and then turned around to face the audience. Her lecture style was to walk back and forth while talking and engaging in eye contact with the audience.

 

_"Hello, for those whom have not met me, I am a visiting honorary Professor as it were. I was inadvertently summoned here on a demon summon ritual that when askew and I ended up liking the place. Yes I am a demon Sorceress for those who like to gossip and no I was not always a demon. I'm not going to go into personal details but let's just say I had a childhood mishap and leave it at that. This lecture is going to be about Time"._

 

_"Time manipulation is one of the more dangerous magical manipulations. The handout, and my thanks to the library staff for helping me find and track down so many of the works, details much of what is written about such magic. Some of which is correct, but other assertions are not born out, especially the one's dealing with paradox"._

_"Magical time manipulation is almost impossible which makes it rather to teach, but is a facet of my intrinsic magical ability which is the ability to traverse space and time and dimensions as I will"._

 

A teleportation disk appeared on the floor under Magik and she appeared to briefly flicker out of existence and then reappear. But now she was drinking a can of Coke.

 

_"Sorry, got a bit thirsty there, it's been a long lecture. I believe I was talking about Paradox. To quote Wikipedia, the salvation of students everywhere, a causal loop is a paradox of time travel that occurs when a future event is the cause of a past event, which in turn is the cause of the future event. Both events then exist in space-time, but their origin cannot be determined. A causal loop may involve an event, a person or object, or information. A causal loop is also known as a boot-strap paradox, predestination paradox or ontological paradox in fiction"._

_"To the traveler traversing the time flow is linear, to the external observer it is very confusing and non linear hence the tendency to declare it impossible or involving multiple dimensions or universes. But what does such an event look like"?_

The left side door by the stage opened and another Professor Magik walked into the auditorium. She waved at the crowd while there was a slight gasp. Let's call her Magik1 and the Magik on the stage Magik0.

 

Magik1 _"Hello, I just teleported from the main stage, waited two minutes, and then walked in"._ Magik1 pointed to Magik0 on the stage. _"That should be the me from the future who has come back in time from the conclusion of the lecture so she should know everything that happens here. For the record I believe this is the very first time I have ever crossed my own time stream"._

There was more then a bit of confusion in the crowd. Magik0 then spoke.

 

 _"A bit of warning, if the two of us touch then all of space and time will collapse into a black hole erasing all of existence"._ There was more gasps and some consternation in the audience.

 

 _"Liar, that's a Star Trek episode"_ Magik1 stated with a frown. Magik0 just grinned in response. Magik1 continued.

_"Let's do an experiment. She..."_ Magik1 pointed to Magik0 on the stage, _"Knows the past. What happens next Magik"?_

Magik0 replied. _"You ask for a cell phone from the audience and you take one"._

Magik1 then asked for a cell phone, several were held up.

 

Magik1 then stated. _"So I select a cell phone right"?_

Magik0 grins _"Yes"._

Magik1 _"And then what"?_

Magik0 _"You keep it and I still have it"._

 

Magik1 _"So folks which phone should I select? She already knows and she already has the phone, but I have not yet selected one. Hmm, Magik was there a PostIt note over the screen on the phone I selected"?_

_"No"._

Magik1 produced a set of yellow PostIts out of her purse. She then walked over to those holding their phones up and put a post it on each one's screen.

 

Magik1 _"Did we record anything on the phone that was selected"?_

 

_"No"._

 

Magik1 _"Everybody who is holding up a phone please hit video record for a minute. Please talk into your phone as you do so there is unique audio recording on each phone"._

 

Everybody with a phone held up spoke and recorded for a minute.

 

Magik1 _"Ok Magik could you please show us the phone you have"._

Magik reached into her little purse and pulled out a red IPhone with a yellow PostIt on it _._

_"That's mine"!_ Cried out Professor Higgens.

 

Magik1 _"Ok, so regardless of what we do let's NOT select Professor Higgens phone"._

 

The phone in Magik0's hand vanished, well kind of vanished. It... it was a blind spot. You looked and nothing was there, just... a blur.

 

Magik1 _"Are you holding a phone Magik"?_

 

_"Yes"_

 

Magik1 _"Can you see it"?_

 

_"Yes"._

 

Magik1 _"What color is it"?_

 

Magik0 spoke _"The phone is <uncomprehensible>". _

 

Magik1 _"What was that? I didn't hear you"._

 

Magik0 spoke _"The phone is <uncomprehensible>". _

 

Magik1 _"Uncertainty principle in action. The past is fixed, from the future's perspective, but the past, well in this case the past has not yet made up its mind preventing the future from sharing the information with the past. A blind spot, both visually and verbally and magically. As my old roommate would say, a firewall blocking the transfer of data"._

Magik0 _"The future knows the past and can go back to change it but then the future is changed as well. The more extreme classic examine of this is to go back in time to kill your grandfather before your father is conceived"._

Magik1 _"But regardless of the cell phone selected, they all have video on them. Magik please press play on the phone you hold"._

Magik0 hit play on the unseen phone and sound could be heard. It was Professor Mary Beth's phone. She was saying _"I don't know why I'm doing this. I feel silly, but this is very interesting. I wonder just where did she get that dress"?_

As the words were spoken the phone in Magik0's hand could now be seen. It was blue and was Professor Mary Beth's phone.

 

Magik1 _"Ok, playing the video on the phone somehow caused our decision here, yet why could the phone's color not be determined? Anybody"?_

 

Nobody answered.

 

Magik1 smiled _"Don't look to me for an answer. I don't know as well. Now Professor Beth, please erase the video from your phone"._

 

Professor Beth did as Magik1 asked.

 

Magik1 _"Now Magik please play the video again"._

 

Magik0 _"What video? I never played a video"._

_Magik1 "Does everybody remember the video"?_

Everybody nodded his or her heads and quite a few said yes.

 

Magik1 _"So the future came here with a recording of the past which the past then erased and the future no longer remembers those events but the past still does. Paradox. Explain it and I'll buy you a drink. Questions"?_

There were many questions. And both Magiks took turns answering.

 

Professor Higgens _"What you just did violated many mathematical proofs, not to mention a rather large number of theories. Do you have any equations or theorems as to why this is possible"?_

 

Magik1 _"No. So not good at math, rather topped out at basic trig and never really understood the whole sin cosine thing. And don't get me started on proofs. Yuck, hated proofs in geometry. For me time traversal just is. The nuances of how it works and why is not something I can really explain. See Doctor Who if you want technical explanations, but he really is very annoying and smug about the whole thing and never wants to share details"._

Quentin spoke up _"The show"?_ (He loved the show Doctor Who on BBC America but wasn't found of the new Doctor)

Magik0 _"Umm, yea. The show"._ Quentin didn't believe her.

 

Professor Cummings _"How often do you traverse time"?_

 

Magik0 _"Very rarely. Rather a bad idea in general. Tends to cause... well problems. Don't like something so go back in time and change it. Don't like what results so now just change it again. And again and again and again and... Well you get the point. Once you start to tinker the temptation to keep tinkering can become unstoppable. Which makes reality... rather fake as nobody and no decision really matters any more. Which can result in extreme detachment. All in all I try to avoid crossing timelines and altering the past"._

Professor Bergeron _"But you have changed the past. You just did it here. What are the consequences of more... significant changes"?_

Magik1 _" I've found that time is a bit like an ocean. Minor tampering is just a pebble being thrown in a wavy sea. No measureable impact for minor observations or even your presence. But set out to make a major change and you get different existences. The future vanishes because it never was. It becomes... unreachable to the time traveler. Is it still there? I don't know because I can't get there any more. It also causes... personal difficulties as you create situations you cannot undo"._

Dean Fogg _"Such as"?_

 

Magik1 _"I have a brother whom I love dearly. I... in a period of extreme detachment due to excessive time manipulation, the reasons for which I will not go into, I allowed a very bad thing to happen to him in an effort to teach him an important lesson that he needed to learn. This caused us to be estranged. Later I travelled to the future and encountered my brother there. He was... very happy to see me which made me... happy, at our last parting my brother in my timeline had expressed rather homicidal desires regarding me which were perfectly justified considering what I had allowed to happen. I..."_

Magik1 stopped, she was slightly teary eyed.

 

Magik0 spoke as looked at Magik1 with shared pain _"I brought my future brother into the past to... help with a problem. He... died. And there was nothing I could do about it. I was devastated. Time travel is not nearly as tempting as it sounds. Power filled with consequences. My do as I say and not as I do advice is don't"._

Magik1 recovered herself. _"There are those in the audience who are likely deeply desirous of changing the past. I cannot teach you how to time travel as it is an innate ability of mine, nor will I help you change the past. I know this sounds cruel but... it just is. I've walked such paths and they are dark; I wish to avoid them in the future. To look continually over your dead is… bad. It does things to you, grates off pieces of you”._

Magik0 _"But that means nothing to one driven, so"_ She gestured with her right hand and a faint mist rose from the audience.

 

 _"This is your plans to ask me, beg me, tempt me, force me to do your bidding"._ She then waved her right hand in dismissal. _"And now none of you will ever think to ask this of me"._

The audience appeared to slightly shake themselves, they hadn't caught the last thing she'd said.

 

Many more questions were asked and additional examples of paradox created.

 

When the presentation was done Magik1 smiled, announced that she was thirsty and that she was going to go get a bottle of ice tea and then go back to the past. With a flicker she was gone and it was just Magik0 standing on the stage holding the empty bottle of coke.

 

Magik0 _"So why do I still have a Coke? Well the machine was out of tea so I got a Coke instead. Is this a parallel universe almost exactly the same as the one I started in when this lecture started? No idea but I'll still buy that drink for anybody who can explain it"._

 

It was strange, weird, and very theoretical. And the least violent of all of Magik's lectures to date.

 

Someone in the audience cried out " _This makes no sense"!_

 

Magik smiled and replied _"Exactly! Welcome to time travel"._

 

 

**Part 4c Discussions and revelations**

 

Hours late back at the Physical house patio.

 

 _"Must make her tutoring interesting"_ stated Margo with a slight laugh.

 

 _"It is"_ stated Alice, Quentin, and Eliot, all at the same time. They then looked at each other with expressions of surprise while Margo ended up looked rather annoyed. She asked a question, rather sharply (the tone employing why you and not me).

 

_"She's tutoring all of you"?_

 

 _"Ahh, I guess"_ mumbled Quentin. _"I didn't know about the others"._

_"Nor I"_ stated Eliot.

Alice looked embarrassed, she decided to just remain quiet and look down at the table.

 

 _"Well that's just dandy. Guess I know where I rate"_ fumed Margo.

 

 _"I didn't seek her out"_ replied Alice while still looking down at the table. " _I got a letter directing me to go to her office"._

 

 _"Same as me"_ Quentin replied. _"First time was for a reassessment of my magical abilities, then she told me to show up every other Tuesday at 11:30am"._

 

Eliot took a drag on his cigarette and then spoke. _"She's been secretly abducting me for over a year and making me to perform vile sexual acts in return for forbidden magical lore"._

_"You liar"!_ Rebuked Margo while punching Eliot in the arm. _"Nobody forces you you pervert"._

_"I'm hurt, wounded by this lack of trust"_ pouted Eliot with a grin.

Margo glared at Eliot and then the other two. " _So, what's she like"?_

 

Alice and Quentin opened their moths to answer but Margo held up her hand to stop them from saying anything while she glared at Eliot.

_"No, all of you answer at the same time. That includes you Eliot. I want unvarnished statements. On the count of three. One, two, three"._

 

Eliot _"Hard ass and a slave driver"._

Quentin _"Frustrating and confusing"._

Alice _"Really nice and patient"._

 

The three looked at each other with uncertainty. Quentin spoke first.

 

_"We're talking about Professor Magik, right"?_

 

Eliot went first. " _Every third week I go to her office and end up in a swamp. A blasted swamp of all places, to practice some specific piece of magic that she selects. She's like that little green Yoda dude from Star Wars only with tits and a Russian accent"._

Eliot now gave a Russian accented impression of Yoda _"There is no try. Just do or not do"._

He then took a drag on his cigarette and then continued. _"Pushes me right to my limits and then pushes me over. Say's I have the tendency to be lazy"._

 

Margo laughed _"You do"._

 

Eliot put on the hurt look again. _"Yea, but I don't like getting called out on it. Your turn Quentin"._

 

Quentin looked around at the group, and then described the world with the opal sky and the black hole.

 

_"She... she does test me on magic that I've learned but not like she apparently does you Eliot. She... has me demonstrate it and then we go over variations of the spells; explore the nuances of it. That parts ok. But she's always asking me why I want something, why something matters to me. Asking me questions I can't think of an answer to. It's like part tutor part psychologist. What about you Alice"?_

Eliot get in a dig (Eliot always likes to get in a dig at folks). _"Does she talk about how much potential you have"?_

Alice didn't want to share, but she answered, kind of.

 

_"No, it's just like Quentin; she has me practice magic. Although we're always in a grassy field at night, but the night has no stars and there is no light but what she or I cast"._

There was more but Alice didn't share it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still enjoying the show. Rather have to write around the edges though. The books are very well written for those who are interested. Lev Grossman's The Magicians is the first book of three and I recommend them all.

**Part 5 Alice**

 

Alice was sitting within a burning circle of blue fire under a black sky in a grassy field of deep green. The only light was the light from the circle of protection that enclosed Alice and some floating balls of light. Magik was next to the circle and was sitting as well, she was facing Alice. Within the circle was a large one foot cube of a half grey half golden metal cube. Next to the cube were smaller sized cubes and bricks all fully golden.

 

Alice had been speaking and gesturing at the cube while Magik had monitored. Had. She was no longer monitoring, she was engulfed in blue flames and was writhing in pain as the flames sought to consume or transform her as Alice had finally been pushed past her limits. At last the flames ensheathing Magik faded away and she was left panting. Alice looked scared and concerned.

 

Alice spoke first _“Are you ok”?_

 

_“Yes… That was rather… stronger then I had anticipated. Your thresholds are getting higher before you lose control of an enchantment. Very good Alice. You’re getting better”._

Currently Alice was practicing transmutation spells. In this case lead into gold. She was way beyond what they taught and demonstrated in class.

 

Every two weeks Alice had an appointment with Professor Magik. She would walk through the office door and be at this locality and practice magic. Alice remembered the first time she walked into that office.

 

**Begin Reflection**

 

 _"Where are we and why am I here?"_ asked Alice as she looked around.

 

Alice had walked through the door to Professor Magik's office only to find herself outdoors, at night, on some grassy field with a pitch black sky. There was only Professor Magik hovering in the air cross-legged in some kind meditative state.

 

The only light was provided by a few floating willow wisp like blobs of light.

 

Professor Magic opened her eyes. _"This is a safe place. A locality where you can express your abilities to your fullest with no danger to yourself as I can shield you here. You are here because... well, why do you think you're here"?_

_"Because you think I'm talented"_ was Alice's answer.

 

_"Yes, but... well, do you consider yourself talented"?_

Alice hated this kind of questioning. She was a very shy girl and cringed at being the center of attention. She looked down at the ground as she answered.

 

_"Yes"._

 

Magik's reply startled her.

 

_"No you don't. I think you find it more of a curse"._

 

Alice looked up to stare at Magik.

 

_"Umm. How do you... um, why do you think that"?_

 

_"Fear. It's in your aura. You fear what might happen if you go too far and lose control, and you are capable of going very far which means that losing control at that point has... extreme consequences. Like your brother learned"._

Alice looked back down. _"Please don't... talk about him"._

_"What do you think about when people comment about how good you are"?_

Alice fidgeted. She hated that, hated this. " _I don't really pay attention. It doesn't... make me feel good"._

_"No. It doesn't. It reminds you of something. What is it that words of praise poke at"?_

Alice with eyes still downcast _"My brother"._

_"Yes. The one that became a Niffin, a demon. Lost to the magic, consumed by it and transformed"._

Magik gestured about the darkened land.

_"It is hard to know thyself if one is always holding back. This place, and myself, will allow you to push to the edge, and beyond, of what you can do, if you want, while being shielded from... from what happened to your brother and... what happened to me"._

Alice looked back up. Magik continued.

 

_"I lost control, went way way past too far. Became... well I was already an involuntarily demon sorceress, in the end I became what you people call Niffins. A creature consumed by magic and driven insane. A creature of pure magic"._

 

Alice asked a question _"How... how did you get better? How did you... um undo it"?_

 

_"I didn't. I... killed myself. Erased myself from existence. To answer your next question it didn't stick and yes there are worse things then dying. I was... brought back. I was rather unstable and due to... subsequent events involving a great deal of abuse, got much worse. I eventual found a way to... partially recover what I was, but I never can really return to what I had been"._

Alice looked back down. _"Why do you want to... do this for me"?_

 

Magik's answer was soft. _"Because if I'd spent less time running away from what I was, if I'd dealt with it as it needed to be dealt with, then maybe, just maybe I'd have chosen better. That or truly understood the choices before me. I don't know what your paths are but I'd... like to give you more opportunity to avoid accidental or deliberate self damnation then I had"._

**End Reflection**

 

Magik stretched and then stood up. _“Keep the little gold cubes as reminders of today’s lesson. We’ll give the bigger ones to the school. You did very well”._

The circle of protection flared and then faded away. Now it was Alice’s turn to stretch and stand up.

 

_“How strong are you Professor Magik? Nobody is supposed to be able le to resist such out of control magic”._

 

_“Nobody mortal. My abilities… vary from locality to locality. And due to my nature I am constrained by… rules depending on the locality as well. I am not of your world so that is in part why the magics cannot consume and transform me. Plus… well… already transformed so kind of like trying to get a fish wet”._

 

_“Are you stronger then… the Beast”?_

 

Professor Magik gave Alice an assessing look.

 

**Begin Reflection**

 

Illyana was sitting by a fountain at the inter-dimensional crossroads called the Neitherlands. Illyana was sitting at a table for two next to the fountain that led to Fillery. The table was all white and had a small white vase continuing two blood red roses. There was a tea pot on the table (again white) and two porcelain tea cups (yea you guessed it, they were white as well). There was also a small pitcher of cream and a bowl of sugar cubs (yea, white, white and white). Oh, but the napkins were light blue.

 

Illyana was in her full Darkchilde incarnation and again wearing that chain mail bikini thing she liked. Her tail was slowly swishing back and forth as she enjoyed a cup of tea (cream no sugar).

 

Behind her the one called the Beast was crouched over and slowly creeping up on her. He had a face of fluttering moths, which hid his actual features. Each hand had six fingers, and he was dressed in a brown two piece suit and was wearing black formal shoes.

 

Illyana spoke as he got within ten feet of her.

 

_"Sneaking up could be construed as a demonstration of hostile intent"._

 

The Beast paused. Illyana spoke again.

 

_"I would consider such a demonstration to be a declaration of war per the rules"._

The Beast straightened up, adjusted his tie, and spoke.

 

_"Sorry. Old habits. I would not be so... foolhardy to make an unnecessary enemy"._

_"Good. Come round where I can see you"._

 

The Beast walked around the table and then sat in the other chair. He, or it, one can never be sure, poured a cup of tea, put in one sugar and a dollop of cream, and took a big long sip. The Beast got straight to the point.

 

_"Why are you here"?_

_"I was summoned accidently. Decided I liked the place so I visit from time to time. Nice library and good parties and I teach and mentor a bit. Again all according to the rules"._

_"Are you stalking a claim"?_

_"No. Per the rules that would involve... a fight over dominion rights. Many would be hurt and the outcome would be..."._

The Beast finished. _"Uncertain"._

_"Yes"._

_"Are you afraid of me"?_

_"Do I look stupid"?_

_"No. You look.... well you look very nice. Attractive and… tasty. The tail is a nice touch"._

_"Of course I fear you. You are somewhat irrational, very powerful, and very obsessed. Been there, done that. I could ask the same question of you"._

_"Yes... you could and the answer would be... not quite sure but not currently willing to find out just what you're capable of"._

_"Wise. I've killed gods before. Was rather a hobby at one point"._

_"Terms"?_

_"I will not directly interfere with your plans and you will not hinder me"._

_"I was hoping for more.... neutrality from you"._ The Beast wiped his lips with a napkin.

_"Tough"._

_"I could say that the tea is poisoned"._

_"I'd agree. So is the cream and sugar. And the napkin you just used"._

The Beast sighed. _"And you are as immune to it as I"._

Illyana drank more of her tea. _"Divinity bad boy vs. part time Demon Hell Lord. Let the games begin. Oh, would you like a scone? I brought some"._ Illyana materialized a basket of scones.

The Beast ended up eating a scone. Would have been... impolite to refuse.  

 

**End Reflection**

 

_“That would be a yes and a no. I likely am stronger, but… If I attacked first then the implications per the… guidelines dictates that… well it would not be good for your world as I would then be… well trust me when I say you don’t want that. Now if the Beast attacked me then I am free to defend and retaliate with no dominion implications. Assuming I survived the attack. At this time the Beast is not so stupid. His... interests are mostly with mortals and minor entities. Long term… well we all dream”._

_“Bummer. I was hoping that…”._

_“No Alice. In that you and yours are on your own”._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 (yea!). This takes pace right after the third episode, but I have watched the episode 4 (the latest as of this writing).

**Part 6a: Lost…**

 

Spreadsheet…

 

Quentin Coldwater was staring at an excel spreadsheet in his office. He had been staring at it for the last fifteen minutes or so. It was something to do with cell phone expenses for all the employees of Paxco, the company he was currently working at; the job had been arranged by Dean Fogg.

 

Paxco was one of the companies who were aligned with many of the magical folk. Although aligned is kind of strong, more of a dumping group for students and magical society members who wished to turn their backs upon magic.

 

Quentin was in a sweet private office for a new hire (again that dumping group thing). The walls were white, he had a nice glass desk with a 27 inch monitor, leather couch, fireplace (which was lit), and a frosted glass door that could be locked so as to ensure privacy.

 

Quentin was more then a little underemployed as truth be told (again that dumping ground thing). He had a cold cup of coffee from Keurig coffee pod machine in the break room and a half eaten egg sausage croissant from the little food shop on the first floor.

 

And no… the spreadsheet was not very fascinating but Quentin was lost in thought. Lost until he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his left eye. His eyes glanced slightly left and observed a small purple dragon’s head hungrily eyeing his breakfast sandwich. Said dragon being perched on the back of his office chair.

 

That’s when he heard the slurp. Something had slurped and it was over by the couch which was obscured by his monitor. He slowly shifted his body to the right to peer around the monitor, and of course his eyes shifted as well. He felt the dragon’s head snap forward on its long neck and his breakfast sandwich was gone from his hand.

 

He paid the loss of his meal no mind as his eyes cleared the monitor and he now observed professor Magik sitting on his couch drinking from a coffee cup (Tea not coffee).

 

She smiled as he saw her _. “About time, I’ve been here for over five minutes Mr. Coldwater”._ Quentin couldn’t help but slightly reflect that professor Magik had not bothered to rebuke the small dragoon… Lockheed, that was the little beast’s name, for snatching his food.

 

**Part 6b: Company man**

 

 _“Nice office”._ Spoke professor Magik while glancing around the room.

 

_“Why are you here professor Magik”?_

Magik continued to glance about the room. _“Nice and… discrete. Do you… you know…”._ Magik made a hand gesture as if she was milking a cow or yanking one something. Which of course just appalled Quentin.

 

 _“Do I what”?_ Was his protesting question. She couldn’t mean…

 

Professor Magik just smirked a bit as she replied. And the little dragon was looking at him with an expression Quentin swore looked sarcastic.

 

_“Spank the monkey, beat the bishop, tug of ware with Cyclops, taming the shrew, flipping the switch, paddling the pink canoe, roughing up the suspect, You know… masturbate”._

_“ **NO!** Why does everybody keep asking that”!_

 

Lockheed just snorted out a disbelieving grunt and took to the air to then land on Magik’s shoulder. She replied as she scratched the dragon under the chin.

 

_“Didn’t know that others asked… kind of the vib I suppose. Lots of magical dropouts and burnouts here and… well… sometimes the hands need something to do”._

Quentin rubbed his face with both hands. _“Dean Fogg sent you didn’t he”._

_“He didn’t send me, nobody sends me… he asked that I check in on you”._

_“Why? Is this going to be some king of pep talk? Get me back up on the horse as it were”?_

_“No… (slurp)… don’t really do that kind of thing. Not very good at it anyway._ Was her dismissal. _“Can’t believe you drink_ _Keurig_ _coffee. Yuck! I have a coffee snob of a friend and she’d kill anybody who tried to serve her such swill”._

Quentin defended his beverage choice. _“It’s hot… well it was hot, brown, and caffeinated”._

Magik wasn’t having any of that. _“So is the excrement of some magical creatures, you don’t see me putting it in a cup and drinking it. Get up, time for lunch”._

Quentin tried to sullenly hold his ground. _“I’m not hungry”._

_“Didn’t ask… now getup”._

Quentin finally compiled and Magik took him to her favorite New Orleans breakfast shop, the one with the great pancakes. Ahhh the advantages of being a teleporter.

**Part 6c: Pancakes are good**

Ok, the pancakes were really good… but Quentin wasn’t going to give Magik the satisfaction of him saying it. And the coffee was a lot better as well. Quentin finally put down his fork and asked a question.

 

_“You ever… lose anybody? I barely know you so saying that you don’t know what I’m feeling feels… wrong”._

Magik sighed. Well… he was bound to ask she supposed to her self. _“Yes Quentin I have lost those I love”._

 

It took a second for Quentin to realize what has just happened. _“Hey… you called by my first name”._

 

Magik replied as if she was brushing it off. _“I generally try not to name the food or lab animals. Same kind of holds true for minor apprentices, plus it’s best to avoid any entanglements with someone you might decided to later kill”._

Quentin stayed on target. _“You just called me Quentin”._

_‘Yes Quentin, I called you by your first name, congrats, I guess you got the big promotion”._

Quentin suddenly got self conscious. _‘It’s just… well… it’s kind a big thing for me. Did you ever call the others by their first names”?_

Magik replied gently. _“Only Alice”._

Quentin went back to being morose and looked down upon his half eaten stack of pancakes. _“And she’s dead and I killed her”._

 

Magik gave him an odd stare that Quentin didn’t notice. _“Alice is dead because she was consumed by magic, became a Niffin and lost most of her humanity in the process I might add. Kind of an occupational hazard for us demons”._

Quentin went on. _“And I killed her when I unleashed the demon that was imprisoned within the tattoo on my back”._

Magik opened her mouth but then closed it.

Quentin finished. _“No one can bring her back”._

 

Magik was a bit harsh in her response. _“That’s a rather absolute statement and surprisingly ignorant of you”._

 

Quentin jerked his head up. _“Can you”?_

 

Magik was in lecture mode. _“Magic Mr. Quentin Coldwater. Magic is about the impossible. Just because **you** can’t do something or don’t currently know how to do something does not mean something is not possible”._

 

Quentin was a bit teary eyed and choked up as he replied. _“Is… Is she… really dead”?_

 

_“Yep… fried herself to save you. You people really need to learn battle magic. Has its uses... But nooo…. Big magical liberal university knows better then the dimensional traveling demon sorceress”._

The conversation rather died at that point, and so did Quentin’s sudden appetite.

 

Professor Magik paid and then took him back to his office where Quentin was to later muse upon her words.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I rather like what the show is doing with Alice. Different from the books but different media so it works; plus you pay actors to be on screen not off in some holding cell. This takes place between Episode six where Alice torments her parents and episode seven where they rob a bank.
> 
> Took me longer to write this then I thought it would. Bit of a writers block after I got halfway though with it.

**Part 7a: The room with no doors**

 

Quentin was standing in the center of a pentagram that was itself within a circle. The outer border of the circle was itself surrounded a circle of mystic runes. The lines and the writing were glowing with a soft golden light. This was all engraved upon a black stone floor in a room that was likewise composed of black stone walls and a black stone ceiling. The room’s illumination being solely from the glowing lines and runes.

 

The room had no doors and no windows. Illyana was outside of the mystic circle, dressed in casual civilian clothing, conversing with Quinton as she inspected her work. The Niffin Alice (Niffin is a kind of demon but rather more like a malicious spirit of pure magic or a djinni in the Arabic world) was standing next to Illyana but Illyana appeared to not know that Alice was there (only Quinton could see or hear Alice) as she was actually imprisoned in the demon trap tattoo on his back and only appeared to be present as she influenced his perceptions.

 

Quentin has been rather… alarmed at the games she’d tricked him into playing with her parents. He’d thought he was helping her, but instead it was just a game to allow her to psychologically hurt her grieving parents, to… play upon their weaknesses, their fears. To force them to confront just how they had failed her as parents.

 

Quinton was greatly concerned as to Alice’s behavior, but really didn’t want to fess up to anybody that Alice still existed, and was apparently rather evil. But he’d finally confided his concerns to Professor Magik. Partially because he felt she was qualified to help, partially because Professor Magik didn’t apparently feel obligated to turn him in, and partially because Alice was starting to become very… badgering. She wanted out of the demon trap and was increasingly hectoring him.

 

 _“Just where are we”?_ Nervously inquired Quinton.

 

 _“Room with no doors”._ Replied Professor Magik, like that was an answer which of course exasperated Quentin. That and Alice repeatedly yelling _“Pussy! You’re just a big pussy Quinton”!_ at him.

_“Is that on Google maps or is it somewhere else”?_ Was his reply as he tried to ignore Alice who was now repeatedly flipping him off in her frustration.

 

Illyana clapped her hands and started invoking the spell. _“Elsewhere… This is going to let Alice Manifest so we can talk”._

 

Quinton eyed Alice who looked… rather more eager then he’d like. _“Isn’t that… dangerous”?_

 

Illyana’s reply was not high on the reassuring index. _“Very… but she’ll still be trapped in your tattoo and as long as you remain within the pentagram she will not be able to access you”._

_“And she can’t escape”?_

_“Not here, not… from the room with no doors. In confines her. This is where I sometimes caste really dangerous magic or inspect… dangerous things. Nothing can get in or out without my say-so”._

Quentin pointed out what he thought was an obviously flaw. _“So… I’m safe, but I can’t help notice that you are outside the protection glyphs”._

_“Alice can’t hurt me”._ Was Illyana’s blasé response. Which earned her an unseen glare from Alice.

 

Quentin observed _“Ummm… she didn’t like that comment. Are you really sure about that”?_

 

Illyana replied with no concern at all. _“The day I can’t handle a newborn djinni, or niffin as you like to call them, is the day I die… There”!_

The enchantment flared into life and the mystic runes burned with a bright golden light. Quentin didn’t notice any other change but Professor Magik started as she noticed Alice now standing next to her. Professor Magik started to say something, but never got the chance to get beyond opening her mouth before Alice rammed her right hand into Professor Magik’s chest and ripped out her heart!

 

Quinton shouted a horrified **_“SHIT”!_** As Professor Magik’s body spewed blood from the gaping hole, she collapsed upon the stone floor where she briefly convulsed… and then died.

 

 

**Part 7b: Well, that could have gone better…**

 

Alice looked down upon the dead body of Professor Magik, then eyed Quentin with a squinty apprising look. Then she tossed the heart under handed, like a softball to Quentin who gave forth a rather horrified **_“Eagh!”_ ** as he avoided the heart which ended up bouncing with a squishy sound off the center of the pentagram before rolling a few times.

 

Alice glared at Quentin. _“Darn, I was hopping you’d jump too far”._

 

Quentin was both horrified and angry. _“And then what?! You just killed Professor Magik”!_

 

Alice shook her right hand a bit to shake off some of the blood. _“Then it would have been your turn”._

 

**“Why”?!**

 

Alice’s answer was chilling. _“Why not? You… hurt me. Hurting those who hurt me is fun and quite enjoyable”._

 

 _“That’s not Alice talking”._ Was Quentin’s denial.

 

 _“No… that’s what’s left of Alice talking”._ Was her harsh reply as she started prowling around the circle. She extended a finger to the boundary of the runes which promptly caused a sizzling sound and she quickly withdrew the probing digit and briefly put it in her mouth as if she’d burned it.

 

She spoke as she walked around the circle while maintaining eye contact with Quentin. He slowly turned as well. _“Always thought she was less then she tried to appear”._

_“Professor Magik”?_

_“Do you see any other dead female bodies lying around”?_

_“Ummm…”._

_“I can’t get in Quentin, but you can’t leave. So… either die of thirst inside of that protection ward, accidentally break the boundary when you fall asleep, or… come out now. I promise, I’ll make it quick”._

 

_“What’s wrong with you Alice?! I can see why you’re angry at me but… why Professor Magik. How did she hurt you”?_

 

_“She didn’t, I just felt like it. And I didn’t like her dismissive tone, tired of people thinking they can just dismiss me”._

Quentin closed his eyes to ignore her as he tried to think of some kind of spell that might save him, which just prompted her to start shouting rather vicious verbal abuse as she continued to walk around the protection glyph.

 

_“Small dicked nerd! Penny was way better at sex then you! Hell, I never even came with you, every orgasm was faked! You limp dicked premature ejaculating magical failure! Some king of Fillory you turned out to be. I bet that…”!_

 

Around and around Alice went spewing obscenities and bile while Quentin drew a big fat nothing on any ideas. For the next ten minutes Alice walked around the circle hurling abuse, passing Magik’s body each time and the slowly widening pool of blood. Sometimes she gave the body a kick or two. After a few minutes Alice started leaving a trail of bloody footprints as she was stepping in the blood on each rotation.

 

Then… on the umpteenth rotation and her ongoing diatribe, she stopped as she came to just a pool of blood. Alice quickly glanced about the room, but no body was seen, and the heart was now missing as well. Quentin also noticed the lacked of Professor Magik’s body with a silent surprised expression, then his eyes flickered to something behind Alice causing Alice to swiftly twirl about and face… nothing.

 

She glanced at Quentin with irritation at his little prank. _“Infantile dick”!_

 

 _“Made you look”._ Was Quentin’s subdued but rather satisfied response.

 

Alice glared at Q, but then… focused on the pool of blood at her feet. She looked at it for a minute or so, then she stooped down and cupped some blood into her left hand and then walked over to a black stone wall and begin to write using her right pointing finger as a gruesome kind of pen. She proceeded to write various runes on the walls, taking frequent trips back to the pool of blood until most of the blood was either on the wall, was drips or footprints, or various spatters upon her person.

 

Quentin couldn’t make all of what she was writing, but what he could decipher was… both impressive and dangerous. It looked like some kind of structural strengthening spell but modified to instead rupture. It took her a tad over an hour to draw the runes, during this time Quentin decided to sit down rather then stand.

 

Once done, she briefly admired her work, and then invoked it with an evil smirk aimed at Quentin. The blood runes burned with a red light, a massive pressure was felt and… they burned out achieving nothing. Which set off Alice into a prolonged cursing rant about the unfairness of the universe in general.

 

_“Gods damn it! What does it take! That was the blood of a demon for crying out loud! Those wall should have ruptured! I can’t believe that…”._

 

Quentin wisely let Alice rail until she finally ran out of steam. Then she looked at Quentin with a winsome half grin and suggested that he exit the circle as she’d make it worth his while. His negative statement as to her currently level of desirability left her very annoyed and she ended up sitting down, propping herself against one wall while muttering curse words.

 

 _“So now what”?_ Asked Quentin. Which earned him a glare but no verbal response.

 

He continued. _We could… talk”._

_“Regarding…”?_ Was Alice’s grudging response.

 

_“Why are you so…”?_

 

_“Evil”?_

 

_“I was going to say… very outspoken and assertive… and… yea, evil…”._

 

_“Because I just am. And I like it that way. Things are so much simpler now”._

 

_“Because you want to hurt people”?_

_“Because I’m willing to hurt people. No more Miss shy let’s hid in the corner. This… feels wonderful. Like I can do anything I want”._

_“Like killing Professor Magik”?_

_“Yep, that was fun, not as funny as playing with my parents, but fun none the less”._

 

Quentin paused as he sought for a suitable reply.

 

 _“Ahhh…”._ Smirked Alice. _“Did I hurt your little feelings Q? Is big bad Alice too much for you now”?_

Which of course irritated Quentin. _“Geeze Alice, what’s with all the verbal abuse”?_

 

_“Because I can! I can finally let out all the things I’ve always wanted to say”!_

_“Even when you’re just lying”?_

_“I… okay… you’re referring to how we first got Penny back from the fountains”._

_“Yea”._

_“Okay I was… pleasured that once, but Penny is way better then you”._ Which prompted a sigh from Quentin as he closed his eyes and rubbed his face.

 

The conversation rather died out and Alice then just spent the time silently glaring at Quentin.

 

But… something… about this situation remained Quentin about… about… his first training with Professor Magik… He sought what the hint of memory was but drew a blank. This prompted him to ask a question.

 

_“So what did you do with Professor Magik when she trained you? You never gave any real details”._

Alice thought about it and then grudgingly answered. _“Magic. Control of spells that grew and grew in power until I lost control of the spell by the end of each session. Then the magic would engulf her instead of me. Attempt to transform her into a Niffin instead of me as all consequences fell on her”._

_“Um… wow. And she could really block that”?_

_“Yes. She said that…”._ Alice looked reflective. _“She went way past too far. That she was already a demon sorceress and that in the end she became a creature of pure magic and that she was insane. And that she couldn’t be transformed into a Niffin because you can’t get a fish wet”._

_“Ok… wow again. How’d she get better”?_

_“She said she didn’t. Not really. That… she could never be what she once was”._

That hint of an idea was growing stronger in Quentin. _“And then you killed her”._

_“I killed the beast. That was fun”._

_“A hurt and badly injured beast”._

_“Dead is dead”._

_“Why did you? He couldn’t hurt you any more. What… motivated you”?_

_“I...”._ A flicker of an emotion on her face that vanished so fast that Quentin could never really be sure that he saw it. _“He hurt me. So I hurt him back”._

Quentin grumbled to himself. _“Talk about bad choices, Professor Magik had brought them here only to… to…”._ And that’s when Quentin remembered what he’d done to Jewels. How Professor Magik had given him that knife that brought out all the badness in him, how it had unleashed his inner IDs. How... she’d pulled off the cover as it were to see just what he’d do.

 

 _“Oh crap Alice”!_ Was his sudden insight. _“I think you just failed a test”._

 

 

**Part 7c: Hell Lord**

 

And that’s when Alice saw her, on the other side of the circle behind Quentin. Not… not Professor Magik. This was the classic blond sexy female demon caricature that one so often sees in comic books and posters and on heavy metal album covers.

 

She was bit taller and curvier, a definite D cup or bigger. She was still blond, but she also had goat legs with silky brown hair, a long red devil's barbed tail, long sharp incisors, and horns. She was clothed in a scanty silver armor and was holding a burning sword in her right hand. And she looked… annoyed.

 

Illyana strode around the circle and Quentin got to see Alice, with a panicky look, start running the other way. Right into the left hand of the demonic Illyana who just flashed into existence in front of her. Illyana gripped Alice by the throat and hosted her into the air and started to slowly choke her as both of Alice’s hands gripped the wrist of the hand choking her in an attempt to break the grip.

 

Illyana just gave a rather fangy grin and choked harder which prompted Alice to attempt a few kicks to no apparent affect.

 

Usually in the films when a big bad comes back to life there tends to be a great deal of dialog from the gloating resurrectie, if the character is a talker that is. This was no exception as Magik then gave a good impression of Margo, tone and all.

 

_“ **Bitch Please** … like I didn’t see that coming”._

Alice tried a few blue flames but all that did was ignite red flames that engulfed Illyana, flames that did not affect Illyana. Flames that started to burn Alice’s flesh and clothing invoking screams from Alice.

 

Quentin was torn, on one hand he was glad that Professor Magik was alive, but seeing her choking Alice to death like Darth Vader was very off putting. He also was rather dismayed to find himself rather… interested in Professor Magik’s scantily clad figure.

 

He grasped for something to say. _“Professor… can’t… um… can’t we all get along”?_ And no, not one of his finer utterances.

 

Alice’s face was turning a bit blue in that I can’t breathe kind of way, as Illyana replied to Quentin.

 

 _“She just has to say the magic words, else…”._ Illyana raised her sword to strike.

 

 _“I’mmm… sorry”._ Was the barely heard mumbled reply from Alice.

 

Illyana slightly relaxed her grip. _“Speak up, couldn’t quite make that out”._

 

 _“I’m… sorry”._ Stated Alice. Not that she looked very apologetic, but she was very sorry that she’d attacked Professor Magik in that she was apparently in the process of being killed for that act. Something that… she hadn’t realized could happen. The sorry I was caught kind of apology instead of sorry I did that.

 

Illyana smiled even wider and then dropped Alice to the ground. _“May be hope for you yet. You’re not the first apprentice who’s tried to kill me, or second, or even third, nor would you be the first apprentice I’ve killed, sadly there are a few of them as well. Quentin please exit the circle”._

Quentin was about to exit and then froze. What… what if this was all an illusion?

 

 _“How do I know this is real”?_ Was his hesitant question.

 

Which apparently pleased demon Professor Magik. _“Good question! You don’t. So… you’re a magician, come up with an answer”._

 

Magik addressed Alice while Quentin pondered his predicament. _“You’re not first Niffin in this cosmos to take a shot at me since I first showed up. That and one minor godling who didn’t understand what the word no means”._

 

Alice contemplated many things, but… just replied. _“You faked your death”._

 

_“Nope, you ripped my heart out good”._

 

Alice prompted for how Professor Magik yet lived. _“So… how are you still alive”?_

 

Alice only got a smile in response as Magik then addresses Quentin. _“Well… you should have figured something out by now Mr. Coldwater”._

 

He had, he caste a truth in seeing spell and saw… well he never was really able to recall just what it was that he saw when he gazed upon where Professor Magik stood because he passed out from the shock.

 

Illyana glanced down upon the passed out Quentin. _“Tsk, tsk, students these days. Alice, I’m going to dispel the protection glyph, if you do something I dislike I shall end you so… consider yourself in timeout”._

 

 

**Part 7d: Teacher/students conference**

 

Quentin came to with a start and found himself still in the black stone room propped up against one of the stone walls. The room was still lit, but there was no identifiable source of light. Alice was sitting and leaning against the far stone wall and scowling at him. Professor Magic was in a lotus meditative position and floating in the air between the two of them, she was back in her human form and wearing that skimpy black getup of hers.

 

 _“What… what the hell was that”?_ Was his question.

 

 _“Exactly”._ Replied Professor Magik, as she opened her eyes, which of course did not answer his question at all.

 

She continued as she stretched her legs down to the stone floor. _“Eliot and Margo each get a B for their part in taking down the Beast. Quentin, you get a C minus due to your continuing refusal to focus on the big picture. Your involvement with your friend Julia keeps causing ever more issues; issues like Alice, problems like fox gods wandering around raping and killing. And Alice… You get a B plus”._

**_“B Plus”?!_** Was Alice’s outraged denial at her supposed grade. _“I took down the Beast”!_ Alice once got an A minus in high school and had cried herself to sleep for over two weeks, ahh… the angst of the nerdy over achiever.

 

Illyana was apparently a stern grader and not swayed by protests. “ _You were juiced up with power from a god, a sleazy horny goat god, but a god non the less, and you had a knife that can kill gods which you managed to promptly lose; I just know that that thing is going to cause problems down the road”._

Quentin ignored the low grade comment and asked again. _“What… what was that”?_

_“Me”._ Was Professor Magik’s reply. _“You saw… more then I anticipated. You really are becoming quite skilled with the little things Mr. Coldwater, I commend you on that”._

Alice snipped. _“You’re too much of a baby Q. Cried and passed out. Bet you pooped your pants as well”._

_“Play nice Alice, or…”._ Professor Magik left the rest of the threat unspoken, but it sufficed to remind Alice of her current timeout status.

 

_“Now I need to have a private word with…”._

 

 

**Part 7e: Alice**

_“… Alice”._

Quentin was gone and it was now just Professor Magik and Alice standing in the black room. Illyana was silent and just stared at Alice.

 

Alice adopted a coyish, and somewhat sexy pose, which was slightly spoiled by her blood spattered apparel, bloody hands, and burnt clothing. _“Professor… I’m so very sorry. I… I was hasty and irrational. I see that now. And I see just how much I have yet to learn”._

Alice took a step in Illyana’s direction, her eyes downcast. _“I… I always found you to be… attractive. And things are so much clearer now”._

Alice took another step and looked up. _“I see that this is a new… beginning for me and that it would… help if I had a mentor. In what I am… In what I can do… I what this form can experience”._

Another step. _“Quentin and Penny… their just boys, while you… I see you could teach me so… much about so many things. I’ll… I’ll do anything you want. Please… please let me do anything you want… I really want to…”._

An ironic smile from Illyana as she looked upon Alice being sultry. _“Alice, I like my seduction attempts to at least be honest”._

 

Alice froze in her steps. Illyana continued. “ _And you really aren’t my type. I tend to prefer more… athletic figures and brunets, mustn’t forget brunets. I know it rather pops your bubble but_ _Margo has a much better shot at it, or even, gods forbid, that walking disaster Julia_ ”.

 

Illyana got a slightly distant look. _“Now Emma I made an exception for”._ Then a rather naughtily grin of remembrance. _“But Alice you couldn’t hold a candle to Emma”._ Which elicited a scowl from Alice.

Illyana returned to the topic at hand. _“Now… what to do about you…”?_ Which reminded Alice that she was rather in trouble.

 

_“Alice, what would you do to be free of the bindings that trap you in Quentin’s tattoo”?_

Alice was quick with her answer. “ ** _Anything”!_**

****

Illyana sighed, and as she did the light started to fade in the room. Her tone became harsh as she spoke. _“I see that you really would do anything Alice. I… am in part the consequences of people who was willing to do anything for power and cared not for the harm it did. Harm to others… harm to me. I was once a child Alice, and then a big bad just like you took that from me”._

The light was now just a sliver short of pure black and Alice noticed that Professor Magik appeared even darken then the blackness. _“You attacked me Alice… the rules that bind me in this cosmos are done in matters that concern you. Find your own way out of the bindings, and… if you harm a child before or after then I shall end you. Ponder that”._

The light vanished as Illyana’s final words were spoken. _“Congratulations, in a strange way you’ve graduated, hope your survive the experience”._

**Part 7f: Quentin**

_“… Quentin”._

Alice was gone and it was now just Professor Magik and Quentin standing in the black room. Illyana was silent and just stared at Quentin.

_Quentin looked despondent. “Is… there anything you can do for her? Help her”?_

_“No. Alice, and you, are very much left to your own devices in this”._

 

_“Why”?_

 

_“Life Mr. Coldwater. Life. It would… be presumptuous of me to believe I know better as to how Alice is to live her new life. After all she did deliberately chose it. Choose it in order to save you”._

This statement make Quentin feel even more morose. _“Why is she so…”._

 

_“Evil? Her humanity was burned out as the magic transformed her. Aspects of various emotions are partiality organic, hormonal, and that’s now gone, not to mention the trauma of such an event. This tends to leave the transformie rather pissed at a great many things, assuming that they are rational and not just insane, things like your friends, her parents, or you. I can see how Alice would be very annoyed at you. So… combine a lack of emotional self control, greatly enhanced magical power, and vast rage… hence the traditional solution your world likes to do is box such entities. Like you did with her transformed brother”._

_“I… I couldn’t do that to Alice”_ was Quentin’s subdued response.

_“You might have to; at least you need to have one as that is likely the only threat you have to moderate her behavior”._

Quentin thought over her remarks. _“So you can’t help us”._

_“No Mr. Coldwater, won’t help you in this. Alice choose to be transformed, and I think she quite likes what she’s become. Keeping in mind that this is not really an apples to apples comparison as many parts of Alice were fried away. You really do need to examine that C minus grade and just how you achieved it”._

_“But I want to help Alice”!_

_“Then you might try asking her what she wants. Or is what you want more important? Girls really don’t like hearing that Quentin. Definite turn off. And unleashing your pet demon upon her, that’s a double turn off”._

_“She was going to kill my friends”!_

_“Which likely explains part of her anger. Alice is a smart girl, smarter then me, I’m sure she’s noticed that when push comes to shove she keeps getting the short end of the stick from you. Now she’s… something else”._

Quentin did not like what he was hearing. _“Did anybody ever try to box you Professor”?_

_“Once, at a demon conference of all things. Very rude”._

_“What happened”?_

_“I made him eat the box. I was kind in that I did allow him a hammer and vast amounts of mustard”._

_“Oh… Umm… Okay… Any… useful advice”?_

_“Not really. Quite a predicament you’ve created for yourself. I suppose you could try summoning a god, but that didn’t go so well the last time some imbeciles tried it. Most gods are really not interested in any problems other then their own, quite like people in that regards”._

Illyana waved her hands and…

**Part 7g: Remains of the day**

Professor Magik and Quentin were back in her office at Brakebills. Alice found herself returned to her formal intangible form as she was only a projection of Quentin’s mind, she was still bloody for some reason.

 

Quentin was quite disgruntled. _“So you won’t tell me how to transform Alice back”._

 

_“No”._

 

Alice was also bitter _. “And she won’t free me as well”._

 

Illyana turned her head to address where Alice was standing.

 

_“That’s a no as well”._


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of session two and (spoiler alert), magic has been rescinded by the gods due to the killing of Ember by Quentin. Love the show and hope they continue it.

**Part 8a: Where were you when the magic ended?**

 

Professor Magik was reviewing student project proposals. Kind of a thesis/project thing at Brakebills. Dean Fogg had asked her a few quarters ago to please review and participate with any projects that she might have any interest in. Something that did rather annoy the other professors, but Professor Magik was always polite about it; and truth be told, even the professors always learned a thing or two.

 

Last term it has been three projects, two had gone off without a hitch, but the third had unfortunately left the student completely devoid of all hairs, even her eyelashes. It should fade in a year or two was Illyana’s assessment. Next time be more careful.

 

She was in her office sitting in her chair holding the last proposal summary paper (one page per proposal). She was in her human form wearing her black field costume. On the desk before her, to the left was a stack of rejected proposals, and to the right was just one proposal that caught her interest. Lockheed, Kitty’s little purple dragon, was present and curled about Illyana’s neck and resting on her shoulder. Small trails of white smoke trickled forth from his nostrils.

 

Behind her, on an otherwise bookshelf, were three books from the other dimensional Neitherlands library’s poison room. The book about god killing magic that Penny had retrieved was nothing compared to what was in these three books. The librarians would be in a massive panic if they were to ever discover that the books were missing, killing gods was one thing, but… make a mistake with the contents of those books and killing worlds was the least of your problems.

 

Illyana finished done reading the last paper. _“A possibility… any thoughts Lock?”_

 

Could dragons read? The answer is yes. _“Yea yea yea.”_ The dragon could distinctly be heard to grumble in eager anticipation.

 

 _“That’s only because you want to eat what the project will produce.”_ Accused Illyana.

 

 _“Humph.”_ Was Lockheed’s Smokey reply. Of course he wanted to eat it. He was a dragon.

 

Illyana gave Lockheed a scratch just behind his ears. _“Stinker… ok I’ll do it just to see how many sausage flavored mice and hamsters you end up gorging on”._ She tossed the paper onto the right hand pile.

 

That’s when the door to her office and the god who was dressed like some kind of plumber walked in.

 

Well… started to walk in. Before he had taken a second step he was up against the wall with a demonic Illyana with burning yellow eyes holding pinning him by the throat with her left hand and her soul sword’s tip posed to thrust into his throat. Lockheed was still on her shoulder and gave a nasty hiss with a hint of flame. The god did not look scared but… he now looked concerned.

 

He spoke _“Apologies… I should have knocked.”_

 

Illyana scowled, glared, and then backed off. Her demonic form faded back to her human form, but she kept the sword.

 

 _“Remember that.”_ Was her curt reply.

_“I will. I stopped by to determine if you were going to interfere.”_

 

Illyana gave him a long look, then... _“No… I take it this is a courtesy call.”_

 

_“Yes. It is believed you will not be affected but you are a visitor and are of such… abilities that we wish you to not be surprised or consider it an attack. You were of course not consulted as you made it quite clear that you did not wish to join the pantheon.”_

 

_“No I did and do not. Now I assume?”_

 

_“Now… they are most upset that their gifts were used to kill one of their own.”_

 

 _“Yes… funny how ants resent being tread upon.”_ Was Illyana’s less then stellar agreement.

 

The god nodded his head at her, turned and walked out of her office, shutting the door on the way out.

_“Well… that’s that I guess.”_ Illyana stated as she felt magic fade as the god proceeded to turn off the wellspring of magic. _“Come-on Lock, I guess we need to go round up the strays”._

A flicker of light and Illyana was gone, and so went the books as well.

 

 

**Part 8b: Brakebills south (as in Antarctica south)**

 

An hour or so later.

 

 _“We’re going to freeze.”_ Was Quentin’s irritated statement to Alice.

 

 _“Astute Q… Astute”._ Was Alice’s sarcastic reply.

 

The temperature was falling fast. Brakebills south used magic to maintain itself, magic that was now no longer functioning. Quentin and Alice had donned some parkas but there was no way for them to escape. Professor Mayakovsky had vanished and was nowhere to be found.

 

That’s when Professor Magik arrived in a burst of light.

 

She was rather flippant as she looked over them both. _“Hiya kids, looking good Alice. A definite A Mr. Coldwater. Definite A. As I said, it’s the little things.”_

 

They were relieved and surprised that her magic still worked.

 

 _“Not from these parts, my magic is independent of the wellspring. Just like the gods in that regards.”_ Was her response. _“Last bus leaving for Brakebills, you coming or staying?”_

 

They left with her and returned to Brakebills.

 

 

**Part 8c: Brakebills**

Professor Magik vanished after retrieving the wayward students from the various magical schools. All that was left was a note on her office door saying she was taking a sabbatical and would return at some TBD date.

 

For reasons unknown, nobody was able to open the door or gain access to her office. It couldn’t be magic as that no longer worked, but… nothing could open that door or even penetrate the walls.

 

 

Author Comment. Until next season!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been re-watching the series in preparation for Season Three on Jan 10, 2018. This has resulted in some minor story ideas. These all take place before the magic ended at the send of Session Two (looks like Season Three is going to be the quest for magic).
> 
> The following shorts are not in any chronological order, and apologies for some crude language, but I do try to write the characters in character.

**Part 9a: Bureaucratic difficulties**

 

 _“What do you mean that I can’t have one?”_ Asked an obviously irritated Professor Magik. She was in her Darkchilde incarnation (yellow eyes, horns, goat legs, and a bikini chain mail armor, she was not currently holding a burning silver fired sword).

 

Before her was a mousy like female clerk wearing glasses and dressed like a librarian from the 1950s. Which did make a kind of sense as Professor Magik was standing before the desk of said mousy woman who was a librarian of the library (known as the Order). The library in the Neitherlands (a spot between dimensions).

 

 _“I said, you are not allowed to have one. None of your kind are allowed a library card or library privileges.”_ Replied the nervous looking clerk.

 

 _“My… kind?”_ Replied Magik that that tone of voice that implied she’d just been racially insulted. Meanwhile some patrons of the library were hightailing it away from the scene of possible dramatics.

 

 _“Oh… not your physical form. The library welcomes all races.”_ Was the clerks hastily reply. _“It’s… you’re not in the system.”_

 

Magik had a puzzled expression that prompted the clerk to provide more details. The clerk gestured at the library stacks surrounding them while speaking.

_“You’re not present in the system. There is no record of you. Even today’s access log does not show you even having being here. None of the books mention you at all regardless of any interaction you have with people.”_

 

_“So?”_

 

_“It is policy to not grant access to any such individuals.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Such entities are known for not returning borrowed materials or paying fines. Theft is also a common problem.”_

The fact that clerk was trying to be polite prevented Magik from trying to be more forceful in her annoyance. She likewise tried the polite track. _“Might I speak to a supervisor?”_

_“I am the supervisor. Please leave or I’ll summon security.”_

Ok… so much for being polite.

 

The library was quite the mess by the time security managed to evict Magik from the premises. In hindsight the inability to record her actions meant that a now missing, and highly classified, reference catalog was not noticed for quite some time, which was more then enough time for Magik to make note of various volumes that she might be interested in.

 

Volumes that were all stored in the library’s poison room, a toxic dimensional location where very dangerous books were stored, a very radioactive and lethal location. But such toxicity is not really an issue for a Hell Lord.

 

She did return the reference volume by arranging for it to be misfiled, which sparked off an investigation as to how it had been misfiled. They never did learn of the volumes Magik “borrowed” from the toxic room (and of course it is very hard to have an investigation with no documentary evidence).

 

But she was suspected.

 

 

**Part 9b:** **Fillory (shortly before the death of Ember at the end of season 2)**

 

Magik had a look of pure disgust. _“Congratulation goat boy, you are the most disgusting godling I’ve met in a long while.”_

Ember drank more from his goblet then slurred a _… “Back at you goatie girl. You’re one to talk.”_

A naked Ember was lying in a garden, with several passed out nymphs scattered about, naked nymphs. Various empty bottles of wine are scattered about, as well as a plethora of little white cake like cookies.

 

What does Ember look like you ask? Assuming you are not a viewer of the TV series or have read the books, then let me enlighten you as to the divine presence that is Ember. Ember has a chaotic and whimsical personality. Ember, as a god that represents chaos and entropy, is quite easily bored and has a tendency to do something wildly destructive or harmful whenever his boredom reaches his breaking point. He has been described by his brother Umber as a child that would smash a playing board in a tantrum, even if he was winning, if he was bored.

 

What does he look like? Well… Imagine a man, then give him a goat like nose, really big sheep horns (Ember is very proud of his horns), a fulsome brown beard, a man’s torso clothed in a ratty stained once white shirt. His lower torso is that of a goat, quite hairy with brown hair, goat legged and with a little goat tail. Think of a big horned pudgy satyr and you’d close.

 

Magik was again in her Darkchilde form, but now her eyes were glowing blue, she was surrounded with burning blue flame, and little crackling blue bolts of power were crackling about her.

 

Ember gestured with his empty goblet at Magik. _“A Niffin with a soul. That’s a first.”_ Then a rather intimate part of Ember apparently took note of Magik and Ember struggled to sit up. _“Speaking of firsts…”_

 

Apparently Magik could actually get more disgusted. _“No, hells no. A thousand times no. Attempt to touch me and you are dead.”_

 

Ember sighed and then laid back. “ _Shame. Never fucked a Niffin before. You know what they say. Once you go goat…”_

Magik’s soul sword flashed into existence, and that intimate part of Ember drooped as he came to understand just what was sneering in disgust at him. Magik was direct in her irritation.

 

_“Great, now I don’t know if I should kill you or just castrate you.”_

Ember did not look very distressed, rather he looked inebriated, and sleepy. _“So boring…”_ He mumbled. _”So tired of this place. It was fun right up to the Beast then… not so fun any more. And without my brother to tweak, to annoy, just so dull. Just why are you here if not to delight in my divinity or to service it?”_

_“Wanted to take a look, see what all the fuss is about.”_

_“And does not my creation delight you?”_

_“The air is point zero two percent opium. No wonder folks love this place.”_

_“Yes…”_ murmured Ember who definitely looked like it was nap time. He curled up with a nymph and went off to snooze land, leaving a rather annoyed Magik; who teleported away in disgust.

 

So much for trying to talk sense into him. She decided to leave things to work out as they would as additional intervention risked some major rules entanglement that would likely end badly for all involved.

**Part 9c:** **Brakebills South (when the kids were at Antarctica)**

 

Brakebills South, where first year students, after their first semester, are sent to practice magic non stop. They do it in a cold austere environment ruled by the tyrannical Professor Mayakovsky, who was banished to Brakebills South after his affair with a student (it was either go to Brakebills South or be mind wiped of any knowledge of magic, the faculty was very very annoyed with him).

It was late in the day and Professor Mayakovsky was engaged in his usual evening ritual, that is drinking in his office. This time he was not alone as Professor Magik was present and drinking as well. The door was shut and none of the students ever knew that she had actually came to visit (just once while they were there but she did return a few more times).

 

 _“I wish they would just fuck already.”_ Groused Mayakovsky in his thick Russian accent, as he poured a shot of his home brewed lichen vodka (they had moved on from the traditional Russian vodka to his special stash), he was talking about Alice and Quentin. _“There is not much to do here. Study, eat, take crap, sleep, repeat. The lucky ones get to occasionally fuck.”_

He held his shot glass in a salute to Professor Magik. _“Or drink. I am unlucky so I get to drink, and yell at students.”_ He drank the shot in one go.

Professor Magik likewise drank her shot, and coughed. She also spoke in a Russian accent, but not a very strong accent. _“That is terrible_.”

 

Mayakovsky shrugged as he refilled his glass. _“Is acquired taste.”_ He started to put the bottle down but Magik waved her shot glass at him, he gave a puzzled kind of look and then refilled her glass _. “I thought you not like.”_

 

Magik’s reply was very ethnic. _“I don’t, but… I’ve drunk worse.”_

Mayakovsky chuckled and gestured with his shot glass _. “I knew you were real Russian. So why does oh so scary Professor Magik come to this frozen hell?”_

Magik took a sip, and then replied. _“I’ve heard of you as well, wanted to find out if you were as big an asshole as they say.”_

Mayakovsky drained his shot again and slammed it on the desk. **_“And!?”_**

 

Magik likewise drained her glass, no cough this time. _“Major asshole.”_

Mayakovsky chucked at the insult while refilled both glasses. _“Definite Russian. I so tire of piss ants. Lightweights. Always polite. At least Coldwater has some balls, he called me a dick, even spelled it out with nails. Very good. First they all practice Hammer charm of Leningrad until they really understand it, not the lazy boy version they learn in their warm cozy classrooms. They must learn to do it for real, no spoken word. Then… once they have mastered it, time for Bujold’s spell of nail extraction.”_

 

Hammer charm of Leningrad is a spell to put nails straight into a board, Bojord’s spell is rather self descriptive.

 

Mayakovsky took a sip and then smiled. _“Tell me Professor Magik, such a name, Magik, I hope you are not self named, how good are you at nails? Are you really worthy of such a name or is it just bullshit?”_

Magik smiled, drained her shot, and then gestured. Fifty nails rose into the air from the work bench at the back of Mayakovsky office, likewise a four by four piece of lumber rise as well. The nails lined themselves up and… the board rather then the nails moved as the board hammered itself into the nails.

 

Mayakovsky looked impressed. “ _Very good, that is new variation.”_

Magik gestured again and every nail bent inside the board with a crackling sound of tearing wood, and then the bent nails ripped the board apart as they were extracted.

Mayakovsky drained the rest of his shot. _“Very very good, like implied threat. You are blessed as I, Mayakovsky, the greatest living Magician, pronounce you almost as good as I. In celebration of historical achievement… I pour you a drink.”_

Mayakovsky refilled the two shot glasses. They clinked the glasses together and both downed their shots, only to then have Mayakovsky refill them yet again, killing the bottle this time.

 

Mayakovsky leaned back in his chair and took a sip. _“So… why here? Are you come to see Mayakovsky abuse poor little students? Mayakovsky, he is cruel. Mayakovsky, he is mean. Poor pathetic students forced to suffer exposure of their inadequacies.”_

 

Magik likewise sipped. “ _Yes, and a definite yes as to your character.”_

Mayakovsky looked surprised. _“Usually they lie. Did Dean send you? Board of Regents? If so fuck them and fuck you.”_

 

Magik appeared to take no insult. _“I sent myself. I was curious as to how harsh the environment really was. One hears stories.”_

_“And?”_

_“They have chocolate. I don’t remember any chocolate when I was banished to a frozen hell for a year in my youth. All I had was an oak tree for nourishment, and I’m not talking acorns. Man… I’d have killed for an acorn. Chocolate… pffffff.”_ Magik drained her glass.

Mayakovsky agreed. _“Student today… pfffff. When I was student, we had to walk in the snow every day, all day, uphill both ways_. (Which is actually true, we are talking magic) _”_ He likewise drained his glass.

Magik then brought a bottle into view from somewhere. _“Enough of this lemonade you make. Try a shot of this._ ” She poured two shots of blood brandy (yes it’s red, and rather thick.)

 

Mayakovsky took his shot glass and almost asked if it was safe, then he downed it without asking. Now it was his turn to cough as Magik downed her shot. He gestured with his shot glass for a refill as his voice has decided to stop working for awhile.

 

 _“I knew you were real Russian.”_ Smiled Magik as she poured refills for both.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter and this chapter are still Season 2 based stories, but his does hint at last week’s episode involvement Margo. The last episode in Season Three has Alice admitting just what a monster she believes herself to be due to her actions as a niffin (likely something for me to play with next chapter). This chapter is about Margo.
> 
> I like the character of Margo, she’s a high-spirited magician whose specialty is gossip, competition, drama, and sometimes getting her bitch on. Although at first sight she seems superficial, Margo is a keen observer and has depth. Margo appears to be the most rational of the group during stressful situations, but that is often mistaken for being cruel and bitter. She tends to be pragmatic, focusing on what needs to be done instead of her emotions. She has a strategic approach to solving problems, and is very skilled at it, being characterized by Eliot as a "quick-thinking" individual, but she tends to be focused on the short term to the determent of the long term.

Despite her party animal reputation, Margo is a proficient student magician in her own right even thought Margo's discipline has not yet been shown on the show. Margo is able to perform different kinds of magic and spells to varying degrees of success. As she has been grouped with the Physical Kids, her discipline must deal with matter and energy. She was able to charm the entirety of the Castle Whitespire staff to perform 'One Day More' from _Les Misersbles_ , as well as adequately performing rudimentary Battle magic (as stated before, Illyana is rather dismissive of the bias against battle magic at Brakebills as she considers it idiotic).

 

Margo is portrayed as both deeply insecure (which she hides) and surprisingly strong. She is outspoken and sometimes causes controversy, but is fiercely loyal, especially to Eliot.

 

Apologies for any crudity, but I do try to write in character, and we are talking Margo here.

 

 

**Part 10a: Morning laziness (It’s good to be the high queen)**

 

The warm morning light that streamed though the windows reveled that Margo was sleeping in, a prerogative of being the high queen. She lazily shifted in her bed beneath the sheets and clutched a pillow to her naked body (Margo like to sleep naked when it was warm). Mmmmmm so comfy, Fillory feather beds are just the best was her relaxed musing half asleep thought. Need to set one up in my room back at earth was her last thought as she rolled over to return to snooze land and a really nice dream about something manly, well equipped and skilled in the use of his mouth for things other then talking.

 

Well, so much for that. A voice spoke in the room and Margo’s eyes snapped open. She knew that voice. Hells, everybody at Brakebills knew that voice if you’d ever interacted with her, even once. The voice was partial humorous but also sounded mildly exasperated.

 

_“Margo the Destroyer. I must remind Elliot that names can have power and crowning one with a name is not to be taken lightly.”_

 

Margo rolled over and sat up while clutching the covers to her breasts. She spied the author of the voice and yep, it was Professor Magik, but not in her human form. Professor Magik was mostly she appeared the first time she came to Brakebills, as described by Elliot (back in chapter 1b).

 

Sitting at a desk chair (Margo’s private desk) was a tall and leggy blond female demon. She had long horns, a devil's tail, goat hooves, electric blue eyes, and a chain mail bikini that showed that she was well equipped, and very female. But this time there was small and infrequently tiny blue electric sparks about her form, just like Alice had in her niffin form. Professor Magik’s tail then lifted up a tea cup, from the desk, for Professor Magik to take a sip.

 

Was Margo concerned? You bet!

 

Was she intimidated? Yep, but this was Margo so just steely eyed look from her.

 

 _“There are rules about knocking.”_ Was Margo’s opening statement.

 

 _“I know, I tend to ignore them.”_ Was Professor Magik’s casual reply. _“Congratulations Margo, I’ve officially added you to my tutoring roster.”_

 

The typical reaction at Brakebills to such promotion was usually a panic attack. Professor Magik has only a few students that she tutored, and her lessons always very tailored to the student. Kudos that Margo appeared calm.

 

Margo replied with her usual tone of slight condescension. _“So now I qualify? Before I was only good enough to dance with. What was the thing that got me on the Magik cat walk?”_

Professor Magik was blunt as she replied with a frown. _“Mistakes.”_

_“Oh.”_ Okay, not a good response. Best to ask a question that might change the subject. _“Is the niffin look deliberate or just an attempt to intimidate?”_

 

Professor Magik shrugged. _“Side affect of what I am here when I express myself this way. To be honest I find it rather annoying. One idiot actually tried to box me at a demon conference I attended in Europe.”_

_“What happened?”_

_“I made him eat the box.”_

Okay… now what? Margo had just depleted her reserve of small talk for such situations. She made another inquiry. “ _Um… when do you want to start? I suppose I could pencil you in for…”_

 

 _“Now.”_ Was Professor Magik’s reply as she interrupted Margo.

 

There was a flash of light and both were gone.

 

 

**Part 10b: Lesson one**

 

Margo’s momentary panic about being naked in class having forgotten to study for a big test (a reoccurring stress nightmare of hers only known by Penny) was put at ease for a second as she found herself clothed in her normal attire. That ease then vanished as she found herself in what she would later describe as hell (it was Limbo).

 

Burning orange sky.

Hot dry wind.

A tall broken flinty cliff behind her.

The smell of sulfur and blood.

Some grey ash was falling as if it were scattered snowflakes.

Broken rocky ground beneath her feet.

And the sound of screaming mixed with the clash of combat.

 

Professor Magik always seamed to know how to pick a physical location that was appropriate to the student.

 

The two of them were standing on the ground looking in to a small depression where demons were fighting. Professor Magik was standing next to her on Margo’s left side. Professor Magik stated. _“Welcome to my home, well… at least one of my homes.”_

Professor Magic then put her right arm around Margo and began to walk along the rim of the small valley, causing Margo to walk as well. _“I’d give you a tour but… maybe next time. Margo, Margo, Margo. Really liked that musical spell involving_ _Les Misersbles. And a definite A+ on using the gun to shoot the attacker who was about to kill Elliot. But the mistakes you’ve been making has prompted me to take you under my wing._ _”_

 

 _“What kind of mistakes?”_ Asked Margo. Notice she did not fess up, a simple rule when caught is don’t confess to what they don’t know about; no need to get yourself in more trouble. She would have liked to have shrugged off Professor Magi’s arm, but wisely choose to be polite (the talons on the end of Professor Magik’s fingers might have had something to do with that).

 

 _“Declaring war in a rush.”_ Was Professor Magik’s first response.

Margo did have to admit that she’d been hasty in that. She breathed a silent sigh of relieve that the bigger mistakes were apparently unknown to Professor Magik.

 

_“Not treating with the Fairy ambassador in a rational manner.”_

 

Opps… might need to take back that sigh.

 

_“And making the deal that you made with the Fairies. Well… no skin off my tush but that was very poorly done. Having Elliot’s wife make a promise without knowing the details… well that is so uncool as it were.”_

 

What deal was that you ask (assuming that you don’t watch the show)? Well…to turn back on the source of magic, and save Eliot’s life (or so she thought), Margo had promised the first born child of Elliot, and his wife, to the fairies.

 

Margo started to explain, in a rush, only to be shushed by Professor Magik. _“The consequences are upon you and yours. But deals with the Fay always go sour if you are in a position of weakness. And they lie continually while always telling the truth. Remember that.”_

_“Okay…”_ Was Margo’s slow reply.

 

_“You’re a queen now Margo. Crowned the Destroyer. You need to focus on thinking things through for diplomatic situations when you have a weak hand. The art of war is critical, and as of now that book is assigned reading for you. Appear weak where you are strong, appear strong where you are weak. Also, you need to read The Prince by Machiavelli. Some really good advice in there.”_

 

Crap, this was degrading into a lame pep talk and book assignments?

 

Professor Magik stopped walking and turned, with Margo, back to the depression and the fighting demons. _“And now to the task at hand. Below us are two small tribes of demons. They hate each other and are always fighting. You assignment is to make them stop.”_

Margo looked over the fighting demons with something akin to panic.

 

Professor Magik then gave Margo a little bit of extra incentive. _“And you are condemned to remain here until you do. Try not to die on your first lesson, I always find it mildly off-putting when a junior apprentice dies. Do try to survive.”_

 

Another flash of light and it was just Margo and the fighting demons (which sounds like a great name for a band now that I think about it).

 

 

**Part 10c: Well Fuc….**

 

Margo has a saying. If the universe is deep dicking you, lay back and try to enjoy it. Rather crude. One supposes it was her version of making lemonade out of lemons, but much more graphic.

 

Now what? Something about Machiavelli was pecking in the back of Margo’s mind, but nothing was activity registering. Margo decided to hid behind a rock and observe for a bit.

 

The fighting demons came in all sizes and humanoid shapes. The biggest ones looked to be about four hundred pounds while the smallest rang in at fifty or so. It was hard to discern which belonged to which group as they were all intermingled and apparently evenly matched as the fight just went on and on an on (so much for the plan on just waiting it out). Looked like there was about thirty or forty per group.

 

As she watched and observed she came up with and discarded many a plan over the next hour.

 

 **Banish them?** To where? Likely any demon banishing would just have them come right here. And she’d need to go research such spells anyway as she didn’t have the need to know such specialized magic. And the noticeable lack of a handy library put paid to that idea.

 

 **Run?** Good idea, but run where? Discretion is the better part of valor, but a destination is a good idea. Best to keep the whole let’s run thing in reserve.

 

 **Kill them?** With what? Brakebill’s went out of their way to not teach battle magic, although Margo was realizing that most magic could be used for battle purposes. But these were demons and she couldn’t recall any spells of sufficient power (and was rather sure a few magic missiles were not going to solve the problem). Although she could try that slicing spell, but the number of demons to slice would likely result in them ganging up on her and killing her before she got done with the whole demonic dicing thing. Which of course made Margo wish she had that magic sword that Professor Magik had shown up with when she first came to Brakebills.

 

 **Kill one group?** Rather a slightly simpler version of the kill them all idea. Same problems and no guarantee that the surviving side would not then off her. Plus she had no idea who belonged to what group.

 

 **Make them turn on her instead?** That would stop the fight, and Magik didn’t say how long the fighting had to stop. But trust her life to a technicality? Yeah right. Next plan.

 

 **Gods damn it!** She needed them to stop fighting and there was no reason at all that they would obey her. This wasn’t Fillory, she wasn’t High Queen here. This wasn’t Brakebills and these weren’t junior students that she could push around because they were afraid of her.

 

That glint of a thought in the back of her mind went ping over something. That was it…

 

**Fear.**

 

And that’s when the comment about Machiavelli made sense. Better to be feared then loved, if you cannot have both.

 

But how to make them fear her? The only mass charm she had was the one to… Make everybody sing and dance! But what song? Margo thought furiously, it had to be one that would…

 

She came up with a plan, rehearsed it a few times, and then climbed to the top of the rock she was hiding behind. She observed the fighting demons, who continued to pay her no mind. She used a little spell to amplify her voice as she assumed her most dominant queen of the bitches persona.

 

**_“Listen up Bitches! I’m tired of all this dicking around. From now on you do what I say.”_ **

****

She cast the spell and really really hoped she hadn’t just signed her death certificate.

 

For a few seconds nothing happened, then the fighting paused and the demons all looked confused. Then one of the demons began to strut his stuff (meaning he started to perform disco dance moves) and started to sing. The other demons all looked aghast, but their feet were tapping out the beat as well.

 

_Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk_

_I'm a woman's man: no time to talk_

_Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around_

_Since I was born_

_And now it's all right, it's okay_

_And you may look the other way_

_We can try to understand_

_The New York Times' effect on man_

 

It was the Bee Gees song Staying Alive.

 

All the demons sang the chorus, while tapping their feet and starting to dance in place.

 

[Chorus]

_Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother_

_You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'_

_And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive!_

 

Another demon now started to dance with the first demon. The second demon sings...

 

_Well now, I get low and I get high_

_And if I can't get either, I really try_

_Got the wings of heaven on my shoes_

_I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose_

_You know it's all right, it's okay_

_I'll live to see another day_

_We can try to understand_

_The New York Times' effect on man_

 

All the demons now pair off with another demon and a truly hellacious disco dance breaks out while they all sing…

 

[Chorus]

_Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother_

_You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'_

_And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive_

 

Another demon now sings, he’s a small demon who’s dancing on top of the sholders of a large demon.

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah_

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah, I'm stayin' alive_

 

His partner now sings back…

 

_Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk_

_I'm a woman's man: no time to talk_

_Music loud and women warm_

_I've been kicked around since I was born_

_And now it's all right, it's okay_

_And you may look the other way_

_We can try to understand_

_The New York Times' effect on man_

 

[Chorus]

_Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother_

_You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_the city breakin' and everybody shakin'_

_And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive_

_Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive_

 

Now half of the demons all sing…

 

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah_

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah_

_I'm stayin' alive_

 

The other half sing back…

 

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah_

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah_

_I'm stayin' alive_

They all sing while making dramatic dance moves, high kicks, sliding between the legs of other daemons, being thrown high like a cheerleader, or being twirled about, and other such dramatic dance moves.

 

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah_

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah_

_I'm stayin' alive_

_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me_

_Somebody help me, yeah_

**_Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah_ **

**_I'm stayin' alive!_ **

 

The dance ends and they all look confused at each other and then at Margo.

 

**_“Name’s Margo! High Queen of Fillory and new apprentice to Magik! So I say stop fighting or…!”_ **

****

She cast the next spell, the illusion spell that she and Eliot had crafted for one of the physical house parties.

 

Next to Margo’s rock a purple dinosaur appears, about size feet tall, think Barney the Dinosaur, but this Barney is leering and is very very male (aroused male whose dic… um.. male appendage is let’s say… rather horse sized). He also has a five gallon drum of bubble gum scented lube under one arm (very prominently written on the drum). He’s also singing and… um… fondling himself with the hand on the other arm.

 

**_“I love you… You’ll be loved by me… for eternity!”_ **

 

Margo finished. _“So your choice is to be his butt slave for all eternity or stop fighting!”_

 

The other demons looked at each other. Disturbingly they appeared to be thinking it over. But then a grin from Barney sealed the deal (that and what Magik had done to the last set of demons who attacked one of her apprentices, but Margo didn’t know about that little fact.)

 

The two demon groups dispersed and Margo breathed a huge internal sigh of relief. Then she heard a slow clap behind her. She turned and yeah, it was Professor Magik, but now no longer looking like a sexy demon, she was human again and dressed in that tight black getup she likes to wear.

 

_“Well done Margo. What did you learn?”_

_“Fear?”_

_“Yep, but also remember this one thing. Threats only go so far. Fear works best when those you threaten believe it. Can't have people thinking your threat means nothing. To use a cliché, walk softly and carry a big sword.”_

_“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.”_ Was Margo’s reply.

 

Which prompted Illyana to manifest her soul sword. The blaze of power astonished Margo.

 

 _“Ok… I stand corrected.”_ Was Margo’s grudging reply. _“Um… what would you have done to make them stop?”_

_“I’d have told them to stop.”_

_“And they would have?”_

_“Don’t know. What I do know, and they know, is that the consequences would have been worse then obeying my commands.”_

Hmmm, words to think about.

 

 

**Part 10d: A few tidbits from Margo’s book assignments**

 

So… did Margo learn anything from her book assignments? That remains to be seen, but here are some highlights.

 

_She who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command._

_Politics have no relation to morals._

_If an injury has been done to a person, it should be so severe that their vengeance need never be feared._

_There is not other way to guard yourself against flattery then by making your advisers understand that telling you the truth will not offend you._

_Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception._

_Appear weak where you are strong, appear strong where you are weak._

_All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near._

And a note from Professor Magik tucked into one of the books. Almost a tee shirt idea.

 

**Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For I, Margo, am the meanest bitch in this here valley.**


End file.
